In the long-range deployment of passenger vessels, where itineraries are measured in months rather than days, HAL-Holland America Line has set out its programme for two Grand Voyages scheduled for 2028.
The itineraries comprise a 129-day circumnavigation of the globe and a 90-day passage focused on Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, both structured in response to sustained demand for extended navigation and prolonged time in port.
The longer voyage, assigned to MS Volendam, is routed from Fort Lauderdale and traces a southerly course through the Caribbean and along the eastern seaboard of South America toward Antarctic waters. The programme includes a defined Antarctic segment, followed by passage through the Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley and the Chilean fjords, before continuing westward across the Pacific with calls at Easter Island and onward through Polynesia and New Zealand. The circuit then extends through Australia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, rounding the Cape of Good Hope and returning across the Atlantic after a second equatorial crossing.
The companion itinerary, undertaken by MS Zaandam, departs San Diego and proceeds westward across the Pacific, transiting Hawaii and the South Pacific before entering New Zealand and continuing to Australia, including remote ports along its western coastline. The return passage follows a course through Melanesia and French Polynesia, incorporating an extended call at Bora Bora before completing the round voyage to California.
Both sailings incorporate a range of ports designated as exclusive to these longer deployments, alongside established destinations and navigational features, including a transit past the coordinate known as Null Island, marking the intersection of the Prime Meridian and the Equator. Each voyage also includes a call at Bora Bora, representing the first occasion on which both Grand Voyages have been routed to the same South Pacific destination within a single season.
Company representatives indicated that the structure of the itineraries reflects accumulated passenger preference for extended stays and access to less-frequented ports, noting that the voyages have been arranged to allow more comprehensive engagement with destinations while incorporating a series of notable navigational and geographic milestones. It was further conveyed that the programme responds to demand for longer passages combining global routing with concentrated regional exploration.
The vessels assigned to these voyages are of a scale suited to smaller harbours, permitting access to ports not available to larger ships while maintaining the capacity required for extended occupancy over several months. In this manner, the 2028 Grand Voyages continue a pattern of long-duration sailings that emphasise geographic breadth, sustained passage and a measured progression through multiple ocean basins.