SEATTLE — Clients can be among the first to sail Holland America Line’s highly anticipated ms Nieuw Statendam, with bookings now open for her Premiere Voyage and 2018-19 inaugural Caribbean cruise season.
Due for deliver Dec. 1, 2018, ms Nieuw Statendam – the second Pinnacle Class ship in the fleet – is currently under construction at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy. After arriving at Civitavecchia, Italy on Dec. 1, she will depart Dec. 5 on her Premiere Voyage with guests, a 14-day transatlantic crossing to Fort Lauderdale that visits Malaga, Spain, and Funchal, Madeira en route. Guests will enjoy an overnight call at Fort Lauderdale before leaving the ship on Dec. 19
From December 2018 through April 2019, Nieuw Statendam will spend her inaugural season in the Caribbean on roundtrip Fort Lauderdale cruises. All Caribbean itineraries include a call at Half Moon Cay, the line’s award-winning private Bahamian island.
Her first Caribbean cruise is a four-day itinerary that calls at Half Moon Cay and Key West, departing Dec. 19. The ship then embarks on a series of seven-day sailings, including a Dec. 23 holiday cruise that calls at Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and Half Moon Cay. A Dec. 30, 2018 New Year’s cruise departure calls at Half Moon Cay; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. A similar Jan. 6 cruise replaces Ocho Rios with Montego Bay, Jamaica. The ship then sets sail Jan. 13 on a seven-day cruise to Nassau, Bahamas; San Juan, Charlotte Amalie and Half Moon Cay.
Guests looking for an extended Caribbean adventure on Nieuw Statendam can depart Jan. 20 on a 10-day cruise to the ABC Islands with calls at Half Moon Cay; Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Willemstad, Curaçao; and Oranjestad, Aruba.
For a quick get-away, a three-day cruise departs roundtrip Fort Lauderdale Jan. 30 and includes a call at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.
For the remainder of the season, the ship will feature western and eastern Caribbean itineraries: the first calls at Half Moon Cay, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, while the second features calls at Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay — with the March 17 departure swapping Amber Cove for Grand Turk.
Fares for the first Nieuw Statendam cruises begin at US$499 per person, double occupancy, for a three- or four-day Caribbean sailing, and $799 for a seven-day cruise. The Premiere Voyage begins at $1,199 per person, double occupancy. Taxes, fees and port expenses are additional.
