When you've booked a sailing that's 132 days long, what's one more day? Fun — that's what. Holland America Line has redone the back half of its 2026 Grand World Voyage, which is now a day longer than originally scheduled — but for an interesting reason.
Due to continued unrest in the Red Sea region, the cruise line recently switched up the last 54 days of its epic sailing on the 1,432-passenger Volendam, which will travel round-trip from Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 4, 2026. Because the cruise has replaced the Middle East and Europe with more destinations in Asia and Central America, the ship will cross the International Date Line twice (instead of once, as originally planned) when sailing through the Pacific Ocean.
When the vessel crosses the invisible IDL — which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole — for the first time heading west, it will skip a day, making the sailing shorter than expected based on its embarkation and debarkation dates. Under the original itinerary, the voyage was 132 days, with the westbound crossing of the line.
Then, on its way back to Fort Lauderdale to end the cruise, the ship will be heading east across the line, thereby repeating a day. The date resets to the previous one when the ship crosses eastbound, in essence sending the ship back in time. That means the revised itinerary will be a day longer but will still conclude on May 17, 2026 — the voyage's originally scheduled end date.
The sailing, which will run just shy of 4 1/2 months, features calls on 51 ports across 23 countries and territories. Originally, the voyage was set to include all seven continents, but with the removal of Africa and Europe, it will now visit five of the seven.
Following the changes, booked travelers will experience overnights in popular ports like Nagasaki, Japan, Tokyo and Hong Kong, as well as previously planned late-night calls and overnights in Rio de Janeiro, Tahiti, Sydney and more. Another notable addition includes a full transit of the Panama Canal.
"We know immersive experiences in exciting destinations are always a main draw for those choosing a world cruise," Beth Bodensteiner, chief commercial officer for Holland America Line, said in a statement about the changes, which will be communicated to affected passengers.
The ship's new, modified route will take guests south from Fort Lauderdale along the east coast of South America. From there, the vessel will cross the equator and head down to Antarctica before sailing to Easter Island and stopping at some of the islands in the South Pacific on its way to Australia. Next are calls on Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, followed by a second Pacific crossing to Alaska.
Volendam will then sail south from Alaska to Seattle
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Planning a vacation for the week between Christmas and New Years can feel anything but festive. Hotel and rental rates are generally at their peak, many properties require weeklong or 10-night minimums and rooms book up fast. But below are 15 great hotels in enticing destinations that — at press time — still have openings for at least a few days between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1 and, while minimum stays vary widely during that period, many of the places included here don’t insist on more than a two- or three-night stay. (The rates listed below are for Christmas week.) Better still, use this list as inspiration for a getaway in January, February or early spring and enjoy the perks of shoulder season: lower prices and fewer tourists.
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 aimed to be the first to cross the snowy mass of Antarctica, passing through the South Pole on the way. But he never even got started on that epic journey—and embarked on another instead—when his ship to the White Continent, the Endurance, sank in the Weddell Sea before reaching its base on Antarctica. Shackleton then had to figure out how to get his crew safely home from where they were stranded on the ice. He succeeded against all odds, and became a legend in the process, but the shipwreck itself was never found, the aura of mystery and intrigue only growing greater with time.
Accor raised its profit outlook after luxury hotels and the Paris Olympics helped drive growth, even as the French hospitality giant grappled with weakness in China’s domestic market.
Welcome to the first installment of a year-long series where Tarah Chieffi, TPG's family travel reporter, shares her experience using various points, benefits, credits and access from her first-ever premium rewards credit card, The Platinum Card® from American Express.