Holland America Line 42-Day Cruise From Florida To Europe To The Middle East In 2024

Inspired by a journey Holland America Line took almost 100 years ago, its new cruise is dubbed the “42-day Ultimate Mediterranean & Atlantic Passage.” Sailing in 2024 from Florida, the cruise is set to make 16 stops along the way, including Greece, Tel Aviv, Morocco and more.

Holland America Line launches new 42-day cruise

Sailing from Florida, across the Atlantic Ocean and around Europe and the Middle East, Holland America Line’s new 42-day cruise was inspired by a journey the cruise line made almost a century ago.

Meanwhile, the sailing is part of the cruise line’s Legendary Voyages, longer cruises that range from 25 to 59 days. After sailing from Fort Lauderdale on November 9, 2024, the cruise ship will stop at 16 different ports before heading back home to Florida.

About the 42-day Ultimate Mediterranean & Atlantic Passage

Passengers will board the cruise ship Volendam in Fort Lauderdale and will first head to the Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the mid-Atlantic. From there, the ship will journey to Tangier in Morocco, then on to Italy, with overnight visits to Livorno and Civitavecchia. Next, it will head to Naples and Catania, Sicily before heading to Piraeus in Athens, Greece.

Once back on board, the Volendam will sail down to Israel, where passengers will explore Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Meanwhile, once back on board, the cruise ship will head to Egypt and Tunisia. This cruise of a lifetime will stop over at Gibraltar, Spain and Casablanca in Morocco on its way back to Florida.

 ‘Beyond a transatlantic crossing’

As reported by Cruise Industry News, Beth Bodensteiner, the Chief Commercial Officer for Holland America Line said in a statement:

Holland America Line was one of the first companies to feature cruise vacations that went beyond a transatlantic crossing, and today we’re continuing to innovate our itineraries by offering memorable voyages like this ultimate Mediterranean and Atlantic passage sailing.

“Since introducing this new Legendary category of cruises that offer an in-depth focus on one region, they’ve been very popular. We’re excited to add a longer voyage that makes it easy to explore the Med in depth without a long-haul flight,” Bodensteiner added.

According to Holland America, this cruise was inspired by a voyage from New York City on February 4, 1925. That cruise departed from New York City on the Rotterdam IV, with 550 guests, sailing to several of the same ports on next year’s cruise itinerary.

Holland America’s Heritage Cruises

In 2022, Holland America celebrated its 150th anniversary by launching a series of heritage cruises. These included a special transatlantic cruise that mirrored the cruise line’s first sailing. In fact, the cruise ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean before the cruise line was even incorporated.

Meanwhile, Holland America has plenty of more exciting offers to come, including an epic, 133-day, pole-to-pole Grand Voyage in 2025. In this case, the cruise ship will sail as far south as Antarctica, and as far north as the Arctic Circle off Norway’s coast.

Find out more about Holland America Line’s cruises on their website here.