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From The Good Ship Tulip
Phil Reimer — I didn’t see much of our ship the Avalon Felicity today…meals and that was about it. Once in Rotterdam, we were off on a 90-minute tour, which is really not long enough to do much more...
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The Fame of Church and Cheese
Phil Reimer — Aboard the Avalon Felicity… A good part of today was spent in the adjoining municipalities of Edam and Volendam; yes, Edam, home of the cheese. Although we made the trip on a bus, it...
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Holland America expands in South Pacific
By 2012, two Holland America ships — the Volendam and the Zaandam — will be deployed to the Australia/New Zealand market. This will mark the first time HAL has two ships in that market. With Royal...
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Price updates for newspaper readers
If you’re reading my column in the paper this weekend, here are two prices changes that were made after the print deadline: On September 22, Holland America’s Volendam leaves Vancouver for Auckland...
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Busy spring for Holland America ships
If you own a house or an apartment, then you know spring is the right time for doing the windows, power washing the concrete, and just making the house and the yard look its best for summer. And...
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Cruise deals from Down Under
In this weekend’s Ports and Bows column in The Gazette, Ottawa Citizen, Windsor Star, Regina Leader Post, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Vancouver Sun and Victoria Times...
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Holland America heavyweight to Australia
Like Celebrity, Holland America is also going to have a premium cruise ship in the Australian market for the winter of 2012-13. The schedule was set for Solstice, flagship of Celebrity’s class of the...
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Cruise news around the world
Oceania has added its name to cruise lines offering all-you-can-drink cocktail packages. “All you can eat” has been on ships for a long time with the buffet spreads out all day long. So here is the...
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Viking Odin a Dutch substitute for driving
AMSTERDAM — If you’re a tourist in Amsterdam wanting to go to places like Volendam, Edam and Marken, you would probably drive — they’re all less than an hour away. Luckily for us, we sailed (or...
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Cruises to, from and Down Under
This Blog coincides with my Ports and Bows column that runs this weekend in the Postmedia dailies across Canada. If you haven’t seen it yet, the column features re-positioning and Australia/New...
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QM 2 circling Australia
Phil Reimer–I love the way the cruise lines follow each other around–they all do it. The Volendam sails this week on a 34-day sold out cruise circumnavigating Australia. Now, Cunard announces that...
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The birth of Felicity
Phil Reimer—From Volendam The birth of a ship is an exciting time for all concerned. The people who designed and built her stand proudly as all their work and effort comes to life when the first...
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Amsterdam before setting sail
Phil Reimer–Today we are in Amsterdam after the christening of the Avalon Felicity yesterday in Volendam. Tonight we will sail on our 7-day Tulip Cruise aboard the Avalon Felicity, returning on Easter...
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More Holland America for Vancouver
Holland America is upping the ante for Alaska in 2013. It’s being done not by adding new ships but by adding more frequency. The Alaska market has had some soft spots this year but I am told bookings...
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Volendam to the rescue in Alaska
Holland America is being praised for taking care of a boat in distress. The 1,400-passenger Volendam picked up 76 passengers and crew from a sightseeing boat that had become stuck on rocks and was...
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Cruise ships aplenty Down Under
Australian cruising is on the rise and the largest flotilla of ships ever to go there will be making its way to Australia and New Zealand in October and November for the start of the summer Down Under....
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Alaska the Holland America way
Now, I know it’s a bit early to be talking about Alaska but all cruise lines are attempting to put their best foot forward early. That being the case, let’s have a look at Holland America, which...
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WOW! Hot summer deals Down Under
The Aussies love their cruising, as do North Americans. This week, WOW is concentrating on cruises that start Down Under. It’s summer now in Australia and a perfect time for cruising. All prices were...
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WOW! North to Alaska, the cruise rush is on…
It’s all about Alaska today. The season really gets going in May and included are Princess and Holland America, the two longest-serving cruise lines to Alaska. All prices are per person, double...
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Volendam to get same treatment as siblings
At some point in any ship’s life, it gets “a little long in the tooth.” That’s the case with Holland America’s Volendam and so, in she goes for refurbishing and re-building in dry-dock. It will happen...
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