Spruced-Up Holland America Ship Set to Launch Europe Season
Guests booked to sail on Holland America Line’s Oosterdam as she plies the Mediterranean in summer 2025 will find staterooms and public spaces spiffed up and refreshed following a two-week dry dock at a Bahamas shipyard.
The 1,964-guest Vista-class ship is on her way to Barcelona after departing from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades on April 19, 2025.
Among the ship’s most notable enhancements are new experiences in the Greenhouse Spa & Salon, including a couple’s massage room and a co-ed sauna.
The spa’s Thermal Suite was redone with a new steam room and rain shower, while its Relaxation Lounge received a beverage service area and new seating arrangements.
As wellness treatments continue to be a big revenue source for cruise ships, Oosterdam’s guests will be even more tempted to use the spa’s salon, where new manicure and pedicure stations were added.
Relaxation areas outside of the spa were also renovated, and new luxury hot tubs with teak wood decks were added to the Sea View aft pool.
Reimagined and refreshed areas span the whole ship, which entered service in 2002. Guests who enjoy games of chance will appreciate the expanded casino aboard Oosterdam, where 34 more slot machines were installed after the former Gallery Bar was transformed into casino space.
Entertainment spaces and dining venues also were targeted in the dry dock refresh. The lively Rolling Stone Lounge, the ship’s premier spot for live music, was enhanced with new furnishings, lighting, and carpeting. In fact, huge areas of the ship received new carpet — some 215,000 square feet all together.
The Lido Market, the ship’s always busy buffet area, has new tiles, upholstery, and counters. A major indoor recreation space, the Crow’s Nest, had numerous redesigns to its Art Studio and Game Room, where new furnishings liven up the spaces.
Some lucky guests will benefit from stateroom upgrades that included bathroom renovations and new deck furniture on certain balconies, although the cruise line has not detailed how many cabins received improvements.
Another public space that was spruced up is the ship’s Neptune Lounge, which is open exclusively to guests booking a Pinnacle Suite or Neptune Suite.
Available on all ships in the Holland America Line fleet, the private lounge serves as a kind of living room, with TV, sofas and chairs, a library, and free refreshments all day.
The Oosterdam upgrade added new carpeting and lights, plus new furnishings and a redesigned food area. It also sports a new desk where concierge services are offered.
Cruisers can indulge in high-end jewelry shopping in a new retail space that will offer an Effy Lounge, where they can experience luxury treatment and meet with a jewelry associate who offers personalized service.
Oosterdam to Sail South America Voyages in Winter 2025-26
Oosterdam will spend the summer season in the Mediterranean, sailing a range of itineraries that feature both short and long voyages.
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Currently on her way to Barcelona, the ship will sail her first Mediterranean cruise on May 3, 2025. The 21-night “Western Medley: Andalusia, Cote D’azur & Malta” journey calls at several top destinations such as Rome, Salerno, and Florence (Livorno), Italy, and Nice (Villefranche) and Marseille, France; but also features some lesser-known ports.
These include Giardini-Naxos, Sicily; Almeria, Spain; and Cagliari, Sardinia, for instance.
In November 2025 the ship will cross the Atlantic and begin a series of South America voyages between Argentina and Chile for the winter 2025-26 season.
Some of those sailings will include scenic cruising near Antarctica. The 22-night “South America & Antarctica” cruise, for example, departs San Antonio, Chile, and sails to Ushuaia, Argentina, before rounding Cape Horn and visiting Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.
Other calls include Punta Del Este and Montevideo, Uruguay.