ZUIDERDAM
June 26, 2022 | Glacier Bay, Alaska
Zuiderdam (Holland America Line) is seen in Glacier Bay, Alaska, on June 26, 2022. The first of Holland America’s Vista-class ships was photographed during Day 3 of our Alaska cruise aboard Queen Elizabeth, as both ships spent the day cruising among the glaciers and mountains of Glacier Bay.
Zuiderdam is seen cruising through Glacier Bay, Alaska, on June 26, 2022. We photographed the Holland America Line ship during Day 3 of our own Alaska cruise aboard Queen Elizabeth, as both vessels spent the day surrounded by the mountains, glaciers and protected waters of Glacier Bay National Park.
Built by Fincantieri in Italy, Zuiderdam entered service in December 2002 as the first of Holland America Line’s Vista-class ships. Her introduction marked an important change for the company, bringing greater passenger capacity, more veranda accommodations and a new generation of ship design to the Holland America fleet.
The encounter in Glacier Bay brought together two ships representing different passenger-ship traditions. Zuiderdam was developed around Holland America’s early twenty-first-century approach to destination cruising, while Queen Elizabeth combines contemporary cruise-ship design with the traditions and visual identity associated with Cunard.
Information List
Name: Zuiderdam
Operator: Holland America Line
Class: Vista class
Builder: Fincantieri, Marghera, Italy
Entered Service: December 14, 2002
Gross Tonnage: Approximately 82,318 GT
Length: 936 feet
Beam: Approximately 106 feet
Double-Occupancy Capacity: 1,964 guests
Maximum Passenger Capacity: 2,587
Crew: Approximately 812
Gallery Date: June 26, 2022
Gallery Location: Glacier Bay, Alaska
Photography Context: Day 3 of our Alaska cruise aboard Queen Elizabeth
History and Features
Vista-Class Development:
Zuiderdam was built by Fincantieri in Italy and entered Holland America Line service on December 14, 2002.
She was the first ship of Holland America’s Vista class and the largest ship the company had introduced at that time.
The class was followed by Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam.
Their design represented an important new generation for Holland America at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Increased use of veranda accommodations and large windows placed greater emphasis on views of the destinations through which the ships traveled.
Design and Passenger Spaces:
Zuiderdam measures approximately 936 feet long and 82,318 gross tons.
Her double-occupancy capacity is approximately 1,964 guests, placing her well below the passenger counts of many newer resort-style cruise ships.
A large proportion of the ship’s outside accommodations were designed with private verandas.
The exterior promenade provides a traditional open deck extending around much of the ship.
Public rooms, lounges and observation areas were designed to maintain a connection with the sea and surrounding destinations.
Holland America Line Service:
Since entering service, Zuiderdam has operated a broad range of itineraries for Holland America Line.
Her deployments have included Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, the Panama Canal and longer international voyages.
Alaska is particularly well suited to the Vista-class design because scenic cruising forms an important part of the experience.
Vancouver and other Pacific Northwest ports have served as important gateways for Holland America’s long-established Alaska operations.
Glacier Bay National Park:
Glacier Bay is one of Alaska’s most significant scenic cruising destinations.
Rather than functioning as a conventional port call, a day in Glacier Bay is centered on navigating through the protected waters of the national park.
Ships travel among mountains, forested shorelines and tidewater glaciers while National Park Service personnel provide interpretation aboard participating vessels.
Access by cruise ships is regulated to protect the sensitive environment and limit the number of large vessels operating within the bay.
The experience places the surrounding landscape, rather than a port or city, at the center of the day.
June 26, 2022 – Glacier Bay:
These photographs show Zuiderdam in Glacier Bay on June 26, 2022.
We viewed and photographed the Holland America ship from aboard Queen Elizabeth.
The surrounding mountains and glaciers provide a sense of scale that is difficult to appreciate when viewing a passenger ship in a conventional port.
Seeing another large ship within Glacier Bay also provided a different perspective on the immense scale of the landscape.
The encounter documented two established cruise operators sharing one of Alaska’s most distinctive scenic cruising destinations.
Our Queen Elizabeth Alaska Cruise – Day 3:
June 26, 2022 was Day 3 of our seven-night Alaska cruise aboard Queen Elizabeth.
We had boarded Queen Elizabeth in Vancouver on June 24.
June 25 was spent at sea as the ship sailed north toward Alaska.
Glacier Bay on June 26 was the first major scenic destination of the voyage.
During our time in the bay, we encountered and photographed Zuiderdam operating in the same waters.
Our voyage continued to Icy Strait Point on June 27, followed by Sitka on June 28 and Ketchikan on June 29.
June 30 was spent at sea before Queen Elizabeth returned to Vancouver on July 1.
This Zuiderdam gallery therefore forms part of the photographic record of our larger 2022 Queen Elizabeth Alaska voyage.
Two Passenger-Ship Traditions:
Zuiderdam and Queen Elizabeth were designed for different operators with distinct maritime identities.
Holland America Line traces its history to nineteenth-century passenger and immigrant services between the Netherlands and North America.
Cunard developed its own long transatlantic tradition, represented in the modern fleet by ships including Queen Elizabeth.
By 2022, both companies were operating primarily within the cruise market while continuing to draw on their long passenger-shipping histories.
Their meeting in Glacier Bay brought these two maritime traditions together in the same Alaska landscape.
More Than Two Decades of Service:
Zuiderdam has remained an important part of Holland America’s fleet since 2002.
Her introduction established the Vista-class platform that influenced several subsequent Holland America ships.
The ship’s moderate size relative to newer cruise vessels has allowed her to continue operating destination-focused itineraries around the world.
Holland America has continued to update Zuiderdam throughout her career while retaining the basic design introduced with the ship in 2002.
Legacy:
Zuiderdam represents an important transition in Holland America Line’s modern fleet history.
As the first Vista-class ship, she introduced a design that emphasized veranda accommodations, natural light and destination views on a larger scale than the company’s preceding ships.
More than two decades later, Holland America continues to identify Zuiderdam as the ship that established the Vista-class standard.
The June 26, 2022 Glacier Bay gallery documents the ship in one of the environments particularly suited to that design while also preserving an encounter from Day 3 of our Alaska voyage aboard Queen Elizabeth.
OLP Social: We encountered Zuiderdam among the glaciers and mountains during Day 3 of our Alaska cruise aboard Queen Elizabeth, as both ships shared one of Alaska's most remarkable scenic cruising destinations.
