Fans of long cruises will love Holland America's latest move
Get ready to go long with Holland America in the Mediterranean.
The Seattle-based cruise line on Wednesday announced a significant overhaul of its Mediterranean itineraries starting in 2026 that will offer more longer sailing options.
Holland America has traditionally offered lots of 10- and 11-night sailings in the Mediterranean during the summers. But starting in 2026, it'll switch to offering more seven-night sailings, with a twist that allows for the creation of a much wider range of longer sailings.
Unlike as is often the case with shorter sailings in Europe, the new seven-night itineraries will vary in their routings from week to week in a way that will allow Holland America fans to string together three of them in a row on the same ship without repeating a single port.
The new lineup of sailings will allow customers to create longer "collector's voyages," as Holland America is calling them, that extend up to 21 nights without repeating ports. Even longer sailings of up to 27 nights can be created that have almost no repeats in ports.
"It allows more flexibility in combining sailings," Paul Grigsby, Holland America's vice president for revenue planning and deployment, told TPG in an exclusive interview in advance of the announcement. "Guests can kind of build their own sailing, their own vacation that way."
All of the sailings will take place on Holland America's 1,964-passenger Oosterdam, which will be the line's only vessel in the Mediterranean for the summer of 2026.
Related: Holland America unveils another epic cruise — with a twist
Typical of the seven-night itineraries on the ship that can be combined to create longer voyages will be a seven-night sailing from Barcelona to Piraeus, Greece (the port for Athens) beginning July 12, 2026. It'll be followed by a seven-night sailing from Piraeus to Civitavecchia, Italy (the port for Rome) starting July 19, 2026, and a seven-night sailing from Civitavecchia to Barcelona starting July 26, 2026.
The first sailing will bring stops at the islands of Malta, Crete and Santorini, and Kusadasi, Turkey (for a visit to the famed ruins of Ephesus). The second sailing will bring stops in Montenegro; the island of Corfu; Messina in Sicily; and Naples, Italy. The third sailing brings stops at Livorno, Italy (for a visit to Pisa or Florence); Portofino, Italy; Marseille, France; and Gibraltar.
Strung together, the three sailings allow for a 21-night voyage with stops spanning the full width of the Mediterranean and visits to eight countries without repeating a single port.
"What we've noticed is that guests like that kind of survey [of all of the Mediterranean] where they start in the west in Barcelona and go all the way across to Trieste [in Italy] or Athens," Grigsby said. "This will allow them to do that."
To make such longer itineraries possible, Oosterdam will sail out of a larger number of home ports in the Mediterranean than is typical for a single ship — five in all. They are Lisbon, Piraeus, Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Trieste.
The new shorter itineraries aren't just designed to be combined to create longer itineraries. They also should appeal to Europeans, particularly families, looking for short vacation options, according to Grigsby.
Grigsby noted that Holland America regularly draws customers from the Netherlands, where the company has its roots, as well as Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, among other European countries.
He said a European customer "might just decide to do a seven-day in Europe like, back home [in North America] we do a seven-night Caribbean or a seven-day Alaska sailing."
Related: The types of Holland America ships, explained
Grigsby said the brand will offer seven-night sailings to the Norwegian fjords out of Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2026 in part to cater to the local market looking for such shorter sailings in their own backyard.
In addition to Oosterdam in the Mediterranean, Holland America will have two ships sailing regularly in Northern Europe in 2026: the 2,666-passenger Nieuw Statendam and the 2,668-passenger Rotterdam.
Both of the vessels will home port in Rotterdam, with Nieuw Statendam also sailing some voyages out of Dover, England.
Among the sailings planned for the ships in 2026 are an increased number of seven-day cruises to Norway’s fjords, as well as seven-day open-jaw sailings between Reykjavik and Rotterdam.
Unusual new voyages include a 14-day Baltic and Scandinavian Capitals cruise that includes back-to-back calls in Germany at the ports of Kiel and Warnemunde. The trip also brings an overnight in Oslo, two calls in Denmark, and stops in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
The Northern Europe routings will include four new ports for Holland America: Aberdeen, Scotland; Kalundborg, Denmark; and Odda, Norway, aboard Rotterdam; and Portsmouth, England, aboard Nieuw Statendam.
Fares for the new Europe sailings start at $1,214 per person for a seven-night trip. More information is available at the line's website.
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Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
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- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.