Holland America Line has announced its two 2028 Grand Voyages, and both will sail roundtrip from a U.S. port. The 129-day Grand World Voyage will leave Fort Lauderdale aboard Volendam on January 4, 2028. The 90-day Grand Australia & New Zealand Voyage will depart San Diego aboard Zaandam on January 30, 2028.
Between them, the two cruises call at 86 ports across some of the most remote corners of the planet, from Antarctica to Bora Bora. The line revealed the itineraries on April 30 to guests already on board the 2026 Grand World Voyage, ahead of opening either booking to the general public.
What Holland America Just Announced
The 2028 Grand World Voyage on Volendam runs 129 days and visits 45 ports in 26 countries and territories across six continents. The route heads south from Fort Lauderdale through the Caribbean and along the eastern coast of South America before a four-day Antarctic Experience. From there, Volendam sails north through the Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley, and the Chilean Fjords, crosses the equator, and calls at Easter Island.
After the South Pacific and French Polynesia, the ship spends eight days and six ports in New Zealand before continuing through Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. It rounds the Cape of Good Hope, sails past Null Island (the spot in the Atlantic where the Prime Meridian and the Equator both hit zero), and crosses the Atlantic to San Juan, Puerto Rico, before returning to Fort Lauderdale.
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Memorable moments listed by Holland America include 65 hours docked in Cape Town, two equator crossings, and 16 Mariners’ Collection ports available only on Grand Voyages. That list includes Easter Island, Walvis Bay in Namibia, Reunion Island, and Cape Verde. Guests will also have access to 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites along the way, including India’s Taj Mahal, Komodo National Park in Indonesia, and the Historic Quarter of Valparaíso in Chile.
The 90-day Grand Australia & New Zealand Voyage on Zaandam takes a different angle on the same hemisphere. From San Diego, the ship heads west through Hawaii and the South Pacific, crosses the International Date Line, and works through New Zealand and Australia (including remote ports in Western Australia) before returning home through Melanesia, Fiji, Samoa, and French Polynesia.
The Zaandam itinerary leans into overnight calls. Guests get extended evening stays in Hobart, Sydney, Cairns, Fremantle (Perth), Auckland, and Papeete. The Bora Bora call on this sailing includes a late-evening stay, which Holland America says opens the door to snorkeling, paddling the lagoon by outrigger canoe, or just lingering at the water’s edge after sunset.
In total, the 90-day route visits 41 ports in 12 countries and territories across two continents, with 13 UNESCO sites including the Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park.
Holland America Line President Beth Bodensteiner shared the announcement with guests already on board the line’s 2026 Grand World Voyage. In her statement, Bodensteiner said the 2028 voyages were “anchored by truly unforgettable moments, from exploring Antarctica and crossing the globe on the Grand World Voyage to sailing past Null Island … and calling at legendary destinations like Easter Island and Bora Bora.”
How the Two Voyages Compare
| Grand World Voyage | Grand Australia & New Zealand Voyage | |
|---|---|---|
| Ship | Volendam | Zaandam |
| Departure port | Fort Lauderdale | San Diego |
| Departure date | January 4, 2028 | January 30, 2028 |
| Length | 129 days | 90 days |
| Ports | 45 | 41 |
| Countries/territories | 26 | 12 |
| Continents | 6 | 2 |
| UNESCO sites | 31 | 13 |
| Antarctic Experience | Yes (4 days) | No |
| Bora Bora call | Yes | Yes (extended late-evening stay) |
| Early booking benefits | Up to $10,700/stateroom | Up to $8,500 |
Both ships are part of Holland America’s older, smaller fleet, and that’s deliberate. Smaller ships can dock in remote harbors that megaships can’t approach, which is the structural pitch behind every Grand Voyage the line runs.
What This Means for Cruisers
The headline angle here is the one I’d lead with for anyone seriously considering one of these: both voyages are roundtrip from the U.S. mainland. That’s not a small detail. A 129-day cruise is already a major commitment, and pairing it with international flights at either end (Sydney or Singapore, say) adds cost, jet lag, and a logistical layer that puts a lot of cruisers off long voyages entirely.
Roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale or San Diego sidesteps all of that. Drive or take a short domestic flight, board the ship, and don’t deal with another airport for three or four months. For older cruisers in particular, that’s a meaningful difference, and Grand Voyage demographics skew older.
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The pricing carrot Holland America is dangling is real but conditional. Booking the Grand World Voyage by June 14, 2027 unlocks up to $10,700 per stateroom in early-booking benefits, broken out as up to $2,500 in onboard credit, a $500-per-person air credit through Flight Ease, complimentary Wi-Fi, and additional savings. The 90-day voyage caps out at up to $8,500. Whether the full benefit applies depends on cabin category, so the headline figure isn’t what every booking will land at.
Heads up: Guests already on board the 2026 Grand World Voyage got first crack at these itineraries before the public announcement. If either is on your radar, the line’s World Cruise Reservations Desk is taking deposited Future Cruise Requests now for priority booking ahead of general release. We’ve covered booking timing in more detail in our guide to the best time to book a cruise for the best deal.
These voyages also fit a wider pattern of mainstream lines pushing further into ultra-long, ultra-remote itineraries that used to belong almost entirely to luxury lines like Regent or Silversea. Carnival Corporation’s other brands are doing similar things; Carnival Cruise Line just announced its first scheduled Africa cruises for 2027. The category is growing, and Holland America’s long-running strength in world cruising puts it in a good position.
What to Watch Next
The next milestone is the public booking opening, which Holland America hasn’t dated publicly yet. Until then, the line’s World Cruise Reservations Desk is taking Future Cruise Requests with deposits to lock in priority. Pricing will follow as the booking window opens, and Grand Voyage cabins typically run from premium balcony rates into six-figure suite territory for a full-length world cruise.
A few details worth tracking as more information emerges: the named ports on the South American leg of the World Voyage (especially how the four-day Antarctic Experience is structured), whether Western Australia’s “remote and seldom-visited” stops on the 90-day route get publicly listed, and whether Holland America layers in any of the segment options that have shown up on past Grand Voyages — shorter chunks of the full itinerary that let cruisers join for a portion rather than committing to the whole run.
Photo by Jose Parra on Pexels
Are you the kind of cruiser who’d commit to 129 days roundtrip from Florida, or does the 90-day Pacific route from San Diego feel more like your speed?