SAN DIEGO — Holland America Line has announced its lineup of cruises sailing out of San Diego beginning in fall 2021.
The Koningsdam was docked in San Diego Monday as Holland America leaders detailed the 40 cruises that will sail from San Diego between September 2021 and April 2022. The Zuiderdam will return to service on Sept. 25 while the first passengers will embark on Koningsdam on Oct. 17.
Koningsdam is making its debut at the Port of San Diego and will offer 23 San Diego departures.
Both ships require passengers be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“I’m here to say very simply, San Diego tourism is back, everybody,” Mayor Todd Gloria said at the Monday news conference. “And I hope that today — thank you again to Holland — you got a sense of the fact that we’re coming back, we’re coming back strong, and it is going to be a great year ahead here in San Diego.”
Ninety-two thousand people are expected to cruise through San Diego in the next year, bringing an estimated to $35 million to the local economy.
“It’s been a long time,” Holland America CEO Gus Antorcha told FOX 5. “March of last year we paused the operation, so to be able to make an announcement like we made today, it’s incredibly exciting.”
Holland America shared this list of highlights for its 2021-2022 San Diego cruise season:
- Zuiderdam: Sept. 18, 2021, to April 22, 2022: 17 cruises from San Diego — eight Mexico, four California coast, three Hawaii and two Panama Canal.
- Koningsdam: Oct. 10, 2021, to April 3, 2022: 23 cruises from San Diego — 15 Mexico, six California coast and two Hawaii cruises.
- Seven-day cruises along the California coast include a new itinerary that calls at Catalina, Santa Barbara and San Francisco for a late evening stay, along with Ensenada, Mexico. Additional “Classic California Coast” cruises include California calls at Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Avalon, and at Ensenada.
- A new 21-day Panama Canal cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam from Seattle, Washington, to Fort Lauderdale departs Oct. 2 and includes calls at San Diego; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Fuerte Amador (Panama City), Panama;; Oranjestad, Aruba; and Half Moon Cay.
- All seven-day “Mexican Riviera” cruises feature three Mexican ports of call: Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas.
- “Mexico and Sea of Cortez” itineraries are between nine and 12 days and call at a combination of Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, Cabo San Lucas, Guaymas, Topolobampo, Pichilingue (La Paz) and Loreto, Mexico.
- “Circle Hawaii” cruises are 17 or 18 days and call at the Hawaiian ports of Lahaina, Hilo, Honolulu, Nawiliwili and Kona, and Ensenada.
- Two 14-day cruises through the Panama Canal from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale on Zuiderdam depart Jan. 2 and Jan. 30, 2022.
Crew members of the Koningsdam got their second round of coronavirus vaccines on Monday. Sharp Healthcare vaccinated up to 450 crew members from two Holland America Line ships and another from Princess Cruises as part of a larger effort to help make it safe to resume cruising.
In the first cruise to leave from Florida since the pandemic, two people onboard the ship of fully-vaccinated passengers tested positive for COVID-19 — but a fellow cruise passenger said the ship didn’t miss a beat.
“We were all vaccinated,” said Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert. “No one else got it. It was two people traveling in the same room. And for the rest of the day, people went to dinner, people were at the shows, people were at the casino, walking around the shops. Not one passenger was wearing a mask. So you could definitely tell that no one was impacted and our last day at sea was perfect.”