Holland America Line’s entire fleet of cruise ships is now operating again after more than two-year pause due to global pandemic. The departure this week of the Westerdam on a seven-day Alaska cruise from Seattle marked the last ship in the HAL fleet to resume operations.

To commemorate the occasion, the cruise line held a ceremony in the terminal on Sunday attended by the ship’s captain and senior officers, with flag-waving fanfare from team members lined up to greet guests as they boarded (photo). Three guests cut a ribbon to open embarkation, and Captain Wouter van Hoogdalem placed the final piece of a puzzle with “Westerdam” on it to signify the completion of return to service for the cruise line.

“Today is an emotional day that’s been more than a year in the making, and Westerdam is the final puzzle piece to make our fleet of ships in service complete,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “Every ribbon cutting has brought us one step closer to today, and everyone in the Holland America Line family worked with passion and determination to achieve this milestone. We are excited to welcome guests and overwhelmed with what today means for our company.”

Westerdam embarked guests for seven-day Alaska Explorer cruise roundtrip from Seattle that will position it in Alaska through the end of September.

Following its season in Alaska, Westerdam will embark on an epic 36-day “South Pacific Crossing” repositioning from Seattle to Sydney, Australia, where the ship will then offer a season of roundtrip from Sydney itineraries to the north and south islands of New Zealand, along with southern Australia. Then in December, the ship sails along the east coast of the continent up to Singapore via the Great Barrier Reef and in early 2023 will offer cruises to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China and the Philippines before crossing back to North America for another season in Alaska.

Since Holland America Line restarted cruising in July 2021, Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Rotterdam, Zaandam and Zuiderdam have returned to service with cruises in Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, California Coast and South Pacific.

Volendam currently is under charter by the government of the Netherlands, accommodating Ukrainian families, and will sail Mediterranean voyages from Italy starting in September.