HAL's ship MS Westerdam heads to the Far East

   July 21, 2018 ,   Cruise Industry

Holland America Line’s ms Westerdam will be sailing to the Far East between September 2018-April 2019.

There will be a total of 10 different itineraries ranging 10-31 days, visiting countries including China, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

MS Westerdam kicks off the season with a 2-week North Pacific Crossing out of Vancouver to Yokohama, before beginning a series of cruises across the Far East.

Ship's 16-day Far East Discovery itinerary between Singapore and Hong Kong visits Sanya; 4 ports in Vietnam, including an overnight in Halong Bay; Sihanoukville; Samui Island and an overnight in Laem Chabang. A 13-day Far East Discovery eliminates Nha Trang and Sanya, while 15-day Far East Discovery excludes the overnight in Halong Bay.

The shortest itinerary of Westerdam's season, a 10-day East Asia cruise roundtrip from Hong Kong, departs on December 10 and explores the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan.

The first trip of 2019 is a 15-day Thailand and Vietnam itinerary roundtrip from Singapore. Passengers will experience 4 calls in Vietnam, including an overnight stay in Danang (Hue), and at Laem Chabang (Bangkok) as well as visits to Ko Samui and Sihanoukville.

Westerdam’s 14- and 15-day Taiwan & Japan trip between Hong Kong and Shanghai offers an overnight in Shanghai or Hong Kong, depending on embarkation port, and visits Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

China, South Korea & Japan voyage is cruising round-trip from Shanghai. It features 2 ports in each country, overnight calls in Shanghai, Tianjin and Incheon. China Explorer Hong Kong-Yokohama includes 2 ports in Japan and 3 in China, with overnights in Shanghai and Tianjin.

Westerdam’s Japan Explorer sails roundtrip from Yokohama and features 5 port calls in Japan, an overnight at Kobe, 2 port calls in Taiwan, and a visit to Jeju.

The final voyage of the season is Japan & Russia itinerary roundtrip from Yokohama visiting 8 ports in Japan as well as northerly exploration to Vladivostok. The season ends with 15-day spring North Pacific Crossing from Yokohama and Vancouver, encompassing cruise ports in Japan and Alaska.

Back-to-back trips can be booked together to create a longer Collectors’ Voyage providing a more in-depth exploration of Asia region. Combining up to 2 itineraries, Asia Collectors’ Voyages range between 23-31 days.

The Grand Asia Voyage is an 82-day Pacific circumnavigation departing on September 30, 2018 and sailing round-trip from LA with 33 port calls and 6 overnights.

Grand Asia & Pacific Voyage 2018 explores Alaska, Russia, China, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, a number of South Pacific islands and Hawaii. Passengers interested in expanding their trip to explore more of the West Coast also benefit from the choice of 89- and 87-day itineraries sailing out of Seattle, and Vancouver.

For those who prefer a shorter cruise vacation, 2018 Grand Asia & Pacific Voyage offers 12 separate segments.