Holland America Line

Holland America Line began in 1873 as a Dutch shipping company carrying emigrants from Rotterdam to New York, and the Dutch roots are still visible: every ship in the fleet ends in -dam, and Indonesian and Filipino crews have served the line for generations. The ships are mid-size by current standards, roughly 1,400 to 2,650 guests, so they reach harbours the mega-ships have to skip. On board the emphasis is music and food rather than waterslides. The Music Walk puts live sets in several rooms most evenings, including the Rolling Stone Rock Room, and dining runs past the main room to the Pinnacle Grill steakhouse, Canaletto for Italian, and Tamarind for Asian on the larger ships. Itineraries tend to be long. Alaska is the strongest programme and Holland America has sailed it every season since 1947, alongside Panama Canal transits, Northern Europe and the Baltic, and Grand Voyages that circle the world over roughly four months. Passengers skew older and better travelled than on the mainstream lines. Inside Carnival Corporation, Holland America sits in the premium tier next to Princess, above Carnival and Costa.