Holland America Line will base the Prinsendam in San Francisco next
summer to operate eight 14-day Alaska cruises.
The Prinsendam formerly known as the Seabourn Sun and Royal
Viking Sun was originally scheduled to spend spring and summer 2003
in Asia and Europe.
The Prinsendam’s first Alaska cruise departs May 17, and its
Alaska season concludes with a 22-day Panama Canal cruise from San
Francisco to Boston departing Sept. 10.
Alaska fares start at $2,449 per person, double. The Panama
Canal repositioning cruise is priced from $2,979, double.
“The Prinsendam was scheduled to spend the holidays in
Australia/ New Zealand, then to Asia-Pacific and then heading to
Europe through the Suez Canal,” said Rose Abello, Holland America’s
vice president of public relations. “Now it will head straight to
San Francisco.”
Abello said the ship was redeployed in part because of
uncertainty about cruising through the Suez Canal but also because
of high demand for Alaska cruises.
“Right now, our Alaska program is booking really well,” she
said. “We were able to bring the ship to San Francisco and there’s
the appeal of that homeport.”
Holland America will operate three other ships in Europe next
summer, including the new 1,848-passenger Oosterdam, the Rotterdam
and the Noordam.
