Extraordinary. Spectacular. Unforgettable. These are some of the words you may use to describe a Grand Voyage<\/a> with Holland America Line. Henk, one of our Hotel General Managers, knows this well. Next year, he will set sail on his 30th<\/sup> Grand Voyage before embarking on a new adventure \u2013 retirement. We recently caught up with Henk to learn what he has loved most about Grand Voyages and how they have enriched his life.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> \u201cFor 30 years, I\u2019ve had the privilege of seeing the world from my doorstep aboard Holland America Line,\u201d he said. \u201cExperiencing different cultures, meeting incredible people, and exploring our beautiful planet have enriched both Christel\u2019s and my life beyond measure.\u201d<\/p>\n Henk began his journey with Holland America Line in 1994. Since then, he has worked with incredible and caring crews to ensure guests had unforgettable experiences around the world. He also met the love of his life, Christel, who was a Guest Services Manager before retiring in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> They have both experienced the awe-inspiring wonder of Grand Voyages, and they ensured guests had an amazing time along the way. This is still Henk\u2019s number one priority: ensuring the guest experience on a Grand Voyage is an unforgettable one.<\/p>\n \u201cMy greatest honor has been caring for you\u2014our wonderfully loyal guests,\u201d he said. \u201cAs I prepare to embark on my final Grand World Voyage as your Hotel General Manager, I would like to welcome you back home on board Zuiderdam<\/a> to join our trusted teams and I on what will be my grand finale tenure around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2025 Grand Voyage will be Henk\u2019s 30th<\/sup> Grand Voyage overall and 21st<\/sup> Grand World Voyage. He\u2019s looking forward to visiting some of his favorite ports again, from South Africa to Australia to the Mediterranean and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> \u201cAmongst many places and joyous experiences to come, I especially look forward to our overnight adventure-call to Easter Island, the exploratory visit of the Pitkerners and hearing their life\u2019s stories, the vibrant city of Sydney and its grandiose harbor, and seeing our Indonesian team members rekindle with their families in Benoa. In addition, I look forward to taking in the spectacular flora and fauna of Madagascar, experiencing South Africa\u2019s safaris and savoring the world-class wines it offers, greeting back The Bernhard Nordkamp Center in Walvis Bay, and being able to go back into the Mediterranean with all its rich history and tradition-steeped culture, which will culminate in our dual-ship call to Barcelona with its wondrous Gaudi architecture, art and gastronomy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> The joint overnight call in Barcelona on April 24, 2025, is sure to be memorable. Zuiderdam and Volendam will meet there, bringing the two Grand Voyages together for a special celebration marking the occasion of the perfectly planned dual visit.<\/p>\n Henk\u2019s final sailing as Hotel General Manager is sure to be memorable, but it\u2019s also bittersweet. That\u2019s because his crew and guests are family to him and Christel.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> \u201cWhat started out as an exciting occupation many years ago, soon transformed into a lifestyle choice that I cherish and for which I am eternally grateful. But, what I\u2019m most excited about on this final trip around the world with Holland America is spending time with you and creating even more unforgettable memories together.\u201d<\/p>\n Thank you for sharing your story with us, Henk, and congratulations on 30 years with Holland America Line! We\u2019re grateful for the leadership and dedication you\u2019ve brought to every cruise, and we can\u2019t wait to learn about your epic and unforgettable journey around the world next year.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Are you ready to set sail on a journey that will take you around the world? Check out our Sail the World on a 2025 Grand Voyage<\/a> blog story to learn more about what makes a Grand Voyage grand. If you\u2019re unable to embark on the 124-day Grand World Voyage with Henk on Zuiderdam, you can explore other cruise itineraries<\/a> from all of the 2025 Grand Voyages, including a 20-day cruise.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1984,"featured_media":81300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,42,31],"tags":[4208,4243],"class_list":["post-81286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-whats-new","category-ship-crew","category-where-to-travel","tag-best-of","tag-grand-voyages"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81286"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81307,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81286\/revisions\/81307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/holland-america-line-hotel-general-manager.webp\" "\\"Holland")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Holland](\"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/grand-world-voyage-holland-america-crew-story-2.webp\" "\\"Breathtaking")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"View](\"https:\/\/www.hollandamerica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/grand-world-voyage-holland-america-crew-story-3.webp\" "\\"Incredible")
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