Holland America's latest epic cruise is an Aussie lover's dream

14.05.2024 - 12:31 / thepointsguy.com

Looking for an easy and affordable way to see large swaths of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in a single trip?

Holland America is out with an epic new itinerary that will allow for just that.

The only catch: You'll need to set aside three months to do it.

The "Grand Australia and New Zealand" voyage, as Holland America is calling it, will kick off Jan. 4, 2026, in San Diego and bring calls at 44 destinations across the Pacific. It'll end back in San Diego on April 7, 2026 — a 93-day span.

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Announced on Tuesday, the sailing will take place on Holland America's 1,432-passenger Zaandam, one of the Seattle-based line's smaller vessels capable of accessing the smaller ports that are common across the regions.

As it begins, the sailing will resemble a classic transpacific cruise from America to Australia, with five days at sea on the way to the Hawaiian Islands. But it'll be a far longer transpacific crossing than is typical.

Upon arriving in Hawaii, Zaandam will spend an extended four days at three of Hawaii's main islands: Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. It'll then continue westward for three weeks of island hopping toward Australia and will bring 13 stops across the islands of American Samoa, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Among the stops in Papua New Guinea will be Alotau, a busy harbor that was the site of the Battle of Milne Bay — often billed as Japan's first defeat in the Pacific during World War II. Zaandam will also visit Papua New Guinea's Conflict Islands and Kiriwina, the largest of the country's Trobriand Islands.

Related: The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Holland America ship

In the Solomon Islands, Zaandam will stop at Guadalcanal — the site of another well-known World War II battle. Nowadays, it's known for its unspoiled beauty, including mountain spires, rocky coastlines, dense rainforest and spectacular waterfalls.

The Australia portion of the trip will be particularly epic, with a nearly complete circumnavigation of the continent over four weeks.

The stops in Australia will include the city of Cairns, a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The ship will also spend two full days sailing along the Great Barrier Reef in what Holland America calls the "Great Barrier Reef Experience."

Other port stops during the Australia leg of the trip will include Darwin, Broome, Exmouth, Fremantle (the port for Perth), Albany, Adelaide, Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island, Melbourne and Sydney.

Visits to Hobart and Port Arthur on the Australian island state of Tasmania are also on tap as part of a five-night diversion as Zaandam travels from Melbourne to Sydney.

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