HAL Extends 114-Day 2010 Grand World Voyage to 128 Days

mercedes · August 4, 2009

Holland America Line's flagship ms Amsterdam will usher in 2010 with a 128-day round-trip Los Angeles, Grand Holiday-and-World Voyage featuring 13 overnight calls -- the most ever offered by the line. Forty-five ports of call showcase some of the world's most remote and exotic regions including South America, Africa, India the Far East and scenic cruising in Antarctica.

An optional 14-day holiday cruise, when combined with the 114-day Grand World Voyage, creates the 128-day roundtrip sailing from Los Angeles, departing Dec. 23, 2009. The voyage begins with calls in Mexico and Central America, including a transit of the Panama Canal.

"Guests on Grand World Voyages seek an immersive experience, and the 2010 itinerary creates an enriching voyage," said Richard D. Meadows, CTC, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs, Holland America Line. "By adding the 14-day holiday roundtrip Los Angeles sailing to the Grand World Voyage, guests can enjoy a relaxing holiday and festive start of their Grand World Voyage."

Guests wishing to sail after the holidays can embark Jan. 6, 2010, at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on a 114-day World Voyage. Amsterdam will sail the Panama Canal for a daylight transit of the man-made wonder before beginning its southbound exploration of Central and South America. Three overnight stays enable guests to explore Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Panama; Callao (Lima), Peru, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other southbound calls include Manta, Ecuador; Callao Peru; Arica, Coquimbo, Valparaiso, Isla Robinson Crusoe and Puerto Montt, Chile.

As Amsterdam approaches the tip of South America, guests will enjoy scenic cruising past Darwin Channel, Chilean Fjords, Amalia Glacier, Canal Sarmiento and Strait of Magellan before calling at Punta Arenas, Chile. More scenic cruising follows of Cockburn and Beagle channels, a series of glaciers and Ushuaia, Argentina, before the actual rounding of Cape Horn.

The itinerary then takes a turn toward the ultimate southern destination -- Antarctica, which includes the Wilhelm Archipelago, South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Sound. After the three-day Antarctic experience, Amsterdam sails to Stanley, Falkland Islands; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Montevideo, Uruguay, where it departs on the trans-Atlantic leg of the cruise.

Amsterdam crosses to Africa to call at Walvis Bay and Luderitz, Namibia, before heading to South Africa for an overnight at Cape Town and calls at Port Elizabeth and Durban.

Upon reaching the Indian Ocean, guests will overnight at Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles, then head to India for overnights in Mumbai and Marmagoa before setting off to Port Kelang, Malaysia.

Next, an intense exploration of the Far East begins, including overnight calls in Singapore, Republic of Singapore; Hong Kong; Xingang (Beijing), China; and Kobe (Osaka) and Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan. Additional calls include Sihanoukville (Kampong Som), Cambodia; Phu My (Ho Chi Min City) and Halong Bay, Vietnam; Shanghai, China; Cheju City, South Korea; and Kagoshima and Hakodate, Japan. Before heading back to North America, guests will experience Petropavlovsk, Russian Federation, and gain a day when they cross the International Date Line. Guests then have the option of disembarking in Vancouver, B.C., April 25, or Seattle, Wash., April 26, or continuing on to Los Angeles.

The Grand World Voyage features three special celebrity-guest speakers -- former television news anchor Sam Donaldson (March 28 through April 1), biographer Kitty Kelley (Jan. 28 through Feb. 7) and Grammy Award-winning musician Doc Severinsen and El Ritmo de la Vida (Jan. 6 through 11).

Reservations are now open for all four 2010 Holland America Line Grand Voyages, with a variety of early-booking bonus amenities offered to full-cruise guests. Depending upon the category booked, guests who book by Sept. 30, 2009, may enjoy shipboard credits up to $1,000 per person, an exclusive shore event, liquor service, complimentary luggage delivery service to and from gateways, pre-paid service charges and welcome-aboard champagne. Cruise fares begin at $17,999 per person for the full 128-day Grand World Voyage.

New holiday segments of Grand World Voyage, a 47-day Los Angeles to Buenos Aires and a 61-day Los Angeles to Cape Town, also are available for booking and include airfare from select West Coast gateways and select East Coast and Central cities for $200 more. The special cruise-and-air fares for the 47-day segment begin at $7,299 and for the 61-day segment at $9,299.