MikeHawkey.com

A relatively new ship, the MS Noordam was launched in 2006 as the final member of Holland America Line’s Vista-class. It is a mid-sized vessel that blends traditional maritime elegance with some additional modern refurbishments added in 2024. The ship has a guest capacity of approximately 1,916 to 1,972 passengers served by a crew of about 800, ensuring a high level of personalised service across its 11 passenger decks. Throughout the year, the Noordam follows a seasonal deployment, primarily operating 7- to 14-night Alaskan voyages from Seattle and Vancouver during the Northern summer, before transitioning to Australia and New Zealand for the Southern summer (March 1st in NZ). Its diverse itineraries also include expansive South Pacific crossings and “Legendary” voyages to the Arctic Circle, catering to a demographic that values art-filled interiors and refined destination-focused cruising.

Though I have no actual scale of reference, whenever I look at these big cruise ships, I wonder how large they are compared to the Titanic… according to google, the MS Noordam is near double the internal tonnage, longer, wider, taller- but interestingly slightly less human capacity (2353 compared to Titanic’s allotted 2435). Simply put – it’s bigger all around and offers guests more space, hence lower max head count… and its only ‘mid sized’ by todays standard.