Off to Rome for the 14-Day Premiere Voyage on Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam

We’re off to Rome for a few days before a cruise.

It’s not just any cruise.

We are excited to be sailing on the 14-Day Premiere Voyage of Holland America’s newest ship, the Nieuw Statendam.  The cruise is the very first voyage available for guests to experience the brand new ship.

We’ve never sailed on a ship’s maiden voyage before. Historically, we’ve thought it was better to wait until a new ship had at least a couple of sailings completed to work out any “bugs.”

Technically, the “Premeire” voyage is not the maiden voyage.  The Nieuw Statendam is sailing right now, from the shipyard outside of Venice to Rome, but with not with paying guests. Rather, Holland America employees are trying out the ship on a “shake-down” cruise to Rome, before the first customers board on December 5th.

We’ve enjoyed reading about all of the work that goes into launching a new ship via Captain Albert’s blog.

The itinerary from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale

The 14-day itinerary includes 10 sea days as the ship crosses the Atlantic Ocean, sailing from Europe to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

We plan to post regular updates here, as internet access allows.  Check out our Instagram and Facebook pages for photo updates.

Will you be sailing with us?

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