World travellers, this one is for you. Holland America Line recently announced itineraries for their two Grand Voyages sailing in 2027. These ambitious cruises offer a 129-day circumnavigation of the globe, or a 70-day, region-specific in-depth exploration of South America and Antarctica.
These meticulously designed cruises contain bucket-list locations and rarely-called-at ports, as well as ample overnight and extended calls in sought-after destinations. The Grand World Voyage (129-days) will sail on Holland America Line’s Volendam and the Grand South America & Antarctica (70-days) will sail on Zaandam. These ships are perfectly-sized for this type of journey— spacious, yet small enough to access unique ports and provide a peaceful retreat and intimate community.
“When you sail on one of our Grand Voyages, we know you’re looking for experiences you can’t have anywhere else, and part of that is the carefully crafted itineraries featuring unique ports of call,” said Holland America Line president Beth Bodensteiner. She also announced the “Mariners’ Collection” — a special series of ports that are featured only on Grand Voyages.
The 129-day 2027 Grand World Voyage will visit 53 ports in 28 countries across six continents, with overnight calls at seven destinations. Among those are exclusive visits to ports including the remote island of St. Helena, best known for hosting Napolean during his second and final exile; along with the settlement of Georgetown, Ascension Island. These two islands in the South Atlantic Ocean are nearly inaccessible, and to visit both in one journey is rare.
The Grand World Voyage includes seven overnight stays: Copenhagen; Bordeaux; Cape Town, South Africa; Bali, Indonesia; Sydney, Australia; Papeete, French Polynesia; and Callao (Lima), Peru.
Guests will have access to 81 UNESCO sites including the Taj Majal, Westminster Abbey, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Great Barrier Reef. This once-in-a-lifetime journey also includes a stop in Bora Bora — often called the “Pearl of the South Pacific”; and an overnight at Bordeaux paired with scenic cruising of the Gironde estuary.
This epic cruise’s route heads south along the west coast of South America, crossing the equator and sailing to Easter Island before traversing the islands of the South Pacific en route to Australia. Travellers will explore Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka before sailing south around Cape Agulhas and north to St. Helena and Ascension Island, as well as sailing up the west coast of Africa. Nearing the end of the sailing, the ship meanders through Europe, including overnight calls at Bordeaux, France, and Copenhagen, Denmark, before an Atlantic Ocean crossing.
The 70-day 2027 Grand South America & Antarctica is one of the most in-depth cruises offered in the region, visiting 31 ports in 13 countries—as well as the four-day Holland America Line Antarctica Experience. The journey also features seven exclusive ports, including Robinson Crusoe Island off the coast of Chile, home to a marooned Scottish sailor for nearly five years and thought to be the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s classic novel of the same name.
The Grand South America & Antarctica adventure includes five overnight stays: Fuerte Amador (Panama City); Panama; Callao (Lima), Peru; Montevideo, Uruguay; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Guests will have access to 28 UNESCO sites including Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. Cruisers will enjoy other-worldly scenic cruising in 10 destinations, including the Pio XI Glacier and the Beagle Channel.
The Zaandam will head south to transit the Panama Canal before crossing the equator, then sails along South America’s west coast. The ship calls at 11 ports and includes several days of scenic cruising through Chile’s majestic fjords and glaciers. It’s route crosses the Drake Passage before a four-day Holland America Line Antarctic Experience, then sails north, calling at 13 ports in the Falklands and along South America’s east coast before a Caribbean sojourn en route back to Fort Lauderdale.
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