Delivers up ships with history

Holland America among the premium cruise lines As part of our occasional series profiling the big cruise companies, SeaView’s cruise expert David Simpson gives the low down on historic Holland America Line. With a 135-year maritime history, Holland America Line is one of the oldest names in cruising but remains dedicated to offering guests 'once in a lifetime experiences' by keeping up with the times.
Its fleet of 15 elegant, modern ships sails worldwide, ranging from popular seven-night Caribbean and Alaska cruises, to Europe, the Panama Canal and as far afield as South America, New Zealand and Asia.
Europe and the UK has grown in significance in the past couple of years, and summer 2012 sees 103 European departures spanning the northern tip of Norway to the Baltic and Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
The 1,260-passenger Ryndam will be based in Dover for nine voyages, and new this year is the recently-refurbished Rotterdam's 32-night Caribbean Odyssey out of Southampton in November.
Under its programme 'Signature of Excellence', its modern, medium-sized ships feature a choice of intimate lounges adorned with Dutch antiques, as a reminder of its heritage, paintings and fresh flowers, for which it is famed.
Holland America excels in service, amenities and special programmes, and although it doesn't lay claim to be in the top-of-the-tree class, it deserves its place among the premium cruise lines.
Its ships have one of the highest staff-members-to-guest ratios, and statistics show that its staterooms are on average 25 per cent larger than the norm and even the standard staterooms measure 197sq ft against the industry average of 147. Seaview accommodation offers both bathtub and shower.
Menus are among the most extensive at-sea. Dining choices include formal elegance, alternative specialty dining in the Pacific Northwest-themed Pinnacle Grill, something more casual and complimentary 24-hour room service.
The Greenhouse Spa & Salon is a haven for relaxation, but when you are feeling active, enrichment programmes range from cookery demonstrations and hands on classes at the Culinary Arts Center, complimentary digital workshops by Microsoft Windows to in-depth lectures on all cruises 12-nights or longer.
Children are catered for with Club HAL for the younger ones and and the Loft and Oasis which is exclusively for teenagers.
It is all a far cry from 1873 when the line was founded as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company, later providing service to the Americas and consequently a name change to Holland America Line.
The company’s first ocean liner was the original Rotterdam, which sailed its maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York City on October 15,1872. In contrast, today's most recent addition to the fleet is the 2,100-passenger Nieuw Amsterdam which arrived in July 2010.
Cruise Line:  Holland America Line
Style of cruising: A premium product with great attention to detail. Unhurried and relaxing, but still likes to keep evenings quite formal.
Age range: The average is 45+ depending on area of the world and time of year. Many families with children cruise the Med, Northern Europe and Alaska in July and August and in the Caribbean over the Christmas holidays. Guests on cruises to the Panama Canal, Alaska or on a Grand Voyage sector would be much more mature.
Size of ship: Mid-size from the 835-passenger Prinsendam to the 2,104-passenger Nieuw Amsterdam
Target audience: Discerning travellers looking for in-depth worldwide discoveries in very comfortable surroundings, with enrichment and learning opportunities onboard.
Destinations: Worldwide - from no-fly Northern European and Mediterranean departures from Dover; tropical Caribbean, Panama Canal and Mexico itineraries; spectacular Alaska cruises and cruise tours through to exotic South America, Asia & Pacific and Australasia cruises. Grand Voyages combine the world's most iconic places with new unusual ports. New Caribbean and Asia voyages are being introduced from Southampton during winter 2012/13
Price range: From £699pp for a seven-night Norwegian Fjords cruise from Dover including free parking  and a free upgrade from inside to sea-view stateroom, to a lead-in fare of £12,949 for the 115-night Grand World Voyage.