MIAMI -- Holland America Line will spend $500 million on a refurbishment of ships in its Vista and Signature classes.
The line called the upgrade "a thoughtful blend of new, elevated experiences and guest favorites inspired by our Pinnacle class." The Pinnacle-class ships are HAL's line's most modern vessels: Koningsdam (2016), Nieuw Statendam (2018) and Rotterdam (2021).
The upgrade will introduce new stateroom and suite categories to the Vista and Signature ships, including the first solo cabins with balconies. There also will be new dining venues and bars.
The Oosterdam will be the first ship renovated and will emerge from a drydock with upgrades in the fall of 2027. The other ships getting refurbished are the Noordam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.
The Vista-class ships were built between 2002 and 2006. The Signature ships, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam, were built in 2008 and 2010.
On the Oosterdam, there will be 76 new staterooms in four categories. Thirty will be Solo Verandahs, 200-square-foot accommodations designed for solo travelers, which guests have been asking for, said Holland America Line president Beth Bodensteiner.
A new suite category, Bridgeview Suites, will be 900 square feet with wraparound balconies, panoramic windows and separate living and sleeping spaces. There will be two on the Oosterdam.
Holland America Line is also adding Pinnacle Suites, which will be 1,550 square feet and include a living room, bath, walk-in closet and balcony.
The remaining new accommodations on the Oosterdam will be 24 Vista Suites, which are currently only on the line's Pinnacle-class ships.
The Grand Dutch Café is also coming to the Oosterdam, another feature currently exclusive to the Pinnacle class.
Cruises on the refurbished Oosterdam will go on sale May 6.
Bodensteiner announced the fleet update, called Holland America Evolution, at the Seatrade Global Conference in Miami.
She declined to specify the timing of the entire project or what venues on the ships will be replaced by the new additions.
"Our ships are known to be spacious and not too dense for passengers," she said. "We were very mindful of that, which is why, honestly, we could have done more staterooms, and made the conscious choice not to. To preserve that feeling."
She hinted that increasing sustainability will also be a focus of the project.
"Much of this work is focused on smarter power management and stronger system performance, all with the goal of reducing our consumption of energy," she said.
When asked why the line is performing a refurbishment rather than growing its fleet, she cited a Carnival Corp. strategy to only grow fleets moderately at the moment.
"At the same time, we have record guest-satisfaction scores," she said. "We're doing quite well financially. And so it actually became a fairly easy decision to go ahead and reinvest in the brand at this time."