HAL TO RETURN TO BERMUDA IN 2010
 

HAL has announced that they will be returning to Bermuda in 2010

http://www.hollandamerica.com/news/N...sReleaseId=592

This is great news for those of us on the East Coast .

When we first started cruising back in the early '80's HAL was doing weekly 7 day trips to Bermuda, but by the time we decided to do this cruise, they pulled out of Bermuda.

I've always wanted to go to Bermuda, but the only ships doing Bermuda out of Philadelphia have been NCL or RCI. I was never that enthusiastic about taking those ships.

HAL bringing a wonderful ship like the Veendam to New York to do these Bermuda runs will mean that I can finally get there. New York is less than a two-hour Amtrak ride for me.

I'm really becoming very distrustful of the airlines with their rampant cost-cutting measures, and I've pretty much decided that after my upcoming cruises later on this month, I want to sail close enough to home that I don't need to fly. This will fit the bill perfectly.

And, in the meantime, maybe I can do something on Cunard out of New York. But no more west coast ... at least not for a while.

Blue skies ...

--rita

You will love Bermuda. The beaches are the best & the island is beautiful. We've cruised there 6 times on Celebrity. When they transferred Horizon, & then Zenith, out of the fleet, our Bermuda cruise days ended. RCI 5 days out of Bayonne are too short & RCI is not our type of cruise. NCL is.....well NCL. Although our daughter sailed them after sailing Celebrity & said they were OK for her with small children.

I am really excited about this news. I've always wanted to try Holland America but for whatever reason, never did. This will give us a great opportunity to finally sail with them.

The Royal Gazette recently said that Holland America was returning to Bermuda for the first time in 70 years, but I remember the Vollendam and Veendam being in Hamilton in the early 80's. They were both very 'tired' looking ships, maybe 20 years old - were they still owned by HAL at that time?

[quote="richsea"]You'll love Holland America. A lot like Celebrity in terms of service levels, and a giant step up from NCL.

Ummmmmm, I wonder if we can pull together a CM group cruise for this one? Be nice to get some group rates, huh?

Blue skies ...

--rita

The Volendam that sails today wasn't even built in the 80's. She was built around 1999. The Veendam that today sails for HAL joined the fleet about 1997 or so.

Through the years, HAL has had an occassional stop in Bermuda but not as a part of a regular itinerary. A once a year type repositioning cruise or such might have had a port call.

At that time, back in the early 80's they were owned by HAL, but subsequently sold to other lines.

They were the Veendam 111 - 1973-1983 and Volendam 11 - 1973-1983

The present Veendam 1V, was launched in 1996 and the Volendam 111, in 1999.

Back in the 70's & early 80's HAL ran these 2 ships on weekly trips out of NYC during the summer to Bermuda - lots of honeymooners! :) The old joke was that all the honeymooners had cabins on one side of the ship, so it was always listing to that particular side. LOL

At the risk of dating myself, my first cruise was with Holland America on the Rotterdam in May, 1977. It was a one week New York r/t to Bermuda and Nassau.

Been hooked ever since, although raising the family put cruising on hold for a lot of years!

I completely forgot that the Rotterdam V also did this run. At my age I often have a "senior moment". :wink:

Wasn't she a beautiful ship - our first cruise on her was in 1983 - 2 cruises on Volendam before that - and then we sailed on her many times after that.

I'm glad to hear that HAL is returning to Bermuda, but NYC is an expensive place to sail from. The airfare is high, and NYC airports experience a lot of delays and are a royal mess. Hotels are out of sight for overnight stays.

Shelby

A big benefit for me of the Holland America itineraries will be the fact that they'll be docking in Hamilton. Fantastic!!!!

:)

Why is that? In other words why is it a benefit to you? :-? Do you own a store or something on Main Street?

I think that what jetlagged means is thatdocking in Hamilton puts you right in the middle of downtown, close to shopping, & attractions. It's also where the main bus terminal & ferry terminal is, so you can easily travel to any part of the island. Not to mention that sailing into Hamilton Harbor is one of the prettiest sights anywhere, IMO. :D

Yes, that's what he could have meant.

Sailing into Hamilton Harbour is a very pretty sight. When we sailed on the old Westerdam back in 1989 from Florida to Germany (we got off in Tilbury as the ship was heading to Germany to be stretched)), we arrived in Hamilton around 1pm - what a lovely sight sailing through the various small islands and seeing all the pretty, pink, blue, yellow and green homes. We left the next day at 1pm and it was lovely to see all the sites again.

Redsails..don't feel alone..did same ship, same place in 1976

Was there with HAL in the late 80's on the Nieuw Amsterdam.... might have been the early 90's!

I agree it is very pretty sailing into Hamilton. We did so on Zenith a number of years ago. I like Veendam will dock at both Hamilton and St. George's. It has been built up a lot since some of you have been there. Much better shopping there than Hamilton now. It is mostly banking and offices there now.

Thats good news!! I have never been there. This gives 2 reasons
to go, I have not been on the Veendam and it will
be my first time cruising to Bermuda.