Category: Holidays

In observance of the U.S. national holiday Memorial Day, we will not be posting today. We will return tomorrow with more great Holland America Blog content.

April 30 was Queen’s Day in the Netherlands, and Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne after 33 years as the Dutch monarch. Thanks to Cruise Director Glen Coenen for sharing photos of Queen’s Day celebrations aboard Rotterdam. The Abdication was shown all day in the Crow’s Nest and the crew organized an afternoon party with the…   read more of “Queen’s Day…”

To all of our celebrating readers, the Holland America Blog team wishes you a Happy Mother’s Day.

STRAWBERRIES ROMANOFF Antonin Careme, the most important chef in post-Revolution France, created this dish when he traveled to Russia to work for Tsar Alexander. INGREDIENTS 3 pints fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and halved 1/2 cup Grand Marnier, divided 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup heavy cream 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened 1/4 cup fresh lemon…   read more of “Rudi’s…”

Thanks to HAL Facebook fan Lynn Neddo for sending us some great pictures with her mother during their Caribbean cruise. Mom (June Neddo) and I went cruising together in December 2009. Ten days in the Caribbean! We celebrated both our birthdays (Dec./Jan.) and had an absolute blast! So glad we got to spend that time…   read more of “Cruising with Mom…”

These dishes for Mother’s Day are designed around the idea of total beauty. Naturally, I think all dishes should be as pleasing to the eye as to the palate, but I selected recipes and presentations that are particularly lovely to behold, because the special women in our lives invariably notice and appreciate the little beautiful…   read more of “Rudi’s…”

Thanks to HAL Facebook fan Judy Isphording for sending us a great photo of her parents during their last trans-Atlantic cruise. My Mom and Dad introduced me to cruises and Holland America in 2006. We went on a wonderful trans-Atlantic cruise at that time. I loved it and have been hooked ever since. We recently…   read more of “Facebook Fans Share…”

Guests Jan and Dick Yetke set sail on Prinsendam’s 64-day Grand Mediterranean Voyage in March, and we’ve just received these wonderful posts. We’ll starting from the beginning so you don’t miss anything, and we’ll catch up as quickly as possible. Enjoy the journey with Jan and Dick! We hope you had a wonderful Happy Easter,…   read more of “Cruise Diary:…”