Holland America Line’s Westerdam marks cruisings return to Samoa

m/s Westerdam - Holland America Line

Holland America Line’s Westerdam will be the first cruise ship to return to Samoa since the pandemic today, with the visit also marking Westerdam’s maiden call to the port.

The call is being made as part of Westerdam’s repositioning voyage from Vancouver to Sydney where she will be homeported for part of the 2022-23 Australian and New Zealand wave season.

Westerdam will arrive in Samoa’s capital of Apia at 8am and depart at 5pm, giving her 1,964 passengers a full day to head ashore and explore the island, generating substantial spend and bolstering the nation’s tourism economy.

The Samoa Tourism Authority in conjunction with the Samoa Ports Authority, as well as port and excursion agents, are planning a warm Samoan welcome to mark Westerdam’s port call.

“Apia will be a popular port call for Westerdam’s guests because of its natural coastal beauty, and cultural and natural attractions,” Holland America Line VP sales and marketing Ryan Taibel said.

“Westerdam’s guests will enjoy a host of experiences that Apia and the wider region has to offer including the Museum of Samoa, and the Rober Louis Stevenson Museum, excursions to Lalomanu and Manu Sina beaches and, of course, local vanilla farms – all of which are adding invaluable tourism dollars to the local economy.”

Homeported out of Sydney from November 8, 2022, to January 3, 2023, Westerdam will sail seven itineraries around Australia and New Zealand ranging from 13 to 30 days. It will be Westedam’s first season in Australia and New Zealand, and the first time since 2016 Holland America Line has had two ships sailing simultaneously around the region.

Among Westerdam’s top hits includes B.B. King’s Blues Club and Lincoln Center Stage, its steakhouse, Pinnacle Grill, and Asian fusion restaurant, Tamarind, plus the World Stage for evening shows, and Gallery Bar which is one of Holland America Line’s newest cocktail destinations.

Latest News

  • Destinations

Memphis Tourism brings blues to Sydney as it adds Jack Daniels to sponsor roster

Memphis Tourism successfully gave Sydney’s travel industry a taste of the city of blues, soul and rock’n’roll last night, the 15th of May at the Oxford Art Factory. In line with the Tennessee theme, Memphis Tourism also announced a new sponsor – Jack Daniels! The legendary whiskey maker has sponsored the tourism group’s in-person events […]

  • Aviation
  • News

Jetstar and Qantas perception ratings soar following Bonza’s implosion

Low-cost carrier Bonza Aviation recently entered voluntary administration, after it abruptly cancelled all its flights, leaving passengers stranded at airports in the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Avalon. Shortly after, Virgin Australia and Qantas (along with its low-cost arm Jetstar) offered to fly affected passengers to their destinations at no additional cost where seats […]

  • Road & Rail

Train over Plane – Journey Beyond releases The Overland’s 2025 season

For over 135 years, The Overland has been transporting guests between Adelaide and Melbourne and back again, connecting the two cities and regional towns in between. Due to an increased demand for considered travel that’s as much about the journey as it is the destination, Journey Beyond has announced the early release of The Overland’s 2025 schedule, which is […]

  • Cruise

AmaWaterways launches Australian operations at Sydney office with panoramic Harbour views

AmaWaterways’ US-based co-owner Gary Murphy and managing director AU/NZ Steve Richards have launched its Australian-based operations with the openeing of a new 30th floor office with panoramic views over Sydney Harbour. But the guest of honour was cruise veteran and Virtuso travel agent Barbara from Bondi who was responsible for the first local AmaWaterways booking, […]

  • Destinations
  • News

Travel insurance expert’s top 3 tips for Aussies stranded in New Caledonia amid riots

Air traffic in the French territory of New Caledonia remains at a standstill with both the domestic and international airports closed. Flights to and from Nouméa’-La Tontouta international airport were cancelled on Tuesday and aren’t expected to resume until Friday 17 May at the earliest. France has declared a state of emergency on the Pacific […]

  • Conferences

Perfect Somewheres: Hotels.com celebrates best-in-class venues for guest experiences

Hotels.com unveiled “Perfect Somewheres” 2024, a first-of-its-kind program celebrating a selection of the top 1 per cent of hotels on the Hotels.com app. Aimee Edwards was on the ground at the Expedia Group’s EXPLORE conference in Las Vegas for the announcement. Unlike other travel awards, Hotels.com Perfect Somewheres is based on a data-driven approach to […]

  • Aviation
  • News
  • Sustainability

Airports boss says $1.7 billion Budget innovation fund will “kickstart” domestic manufacture of sustainable aviation fuel

The government’s $1.7 billion investment in a Future Made In Australia Innovation Fund will give a “significant” boost to the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Australia, James Goodwin CEO at the Australian Airports Association (AAA) told Travel Weekly. In the 2024-2025 budget released on Tuesday, the government said the $1.7 billion investment will […]

  • Business Travel

Apparent launches ‘All heart, no hassle’ campaign for Flight Centre’s Corporate Traveller

Apparent’s first integrated brand campaign goes live this week for Corporate Traveller, the flagship SME business-to-business brand of Flight Centre Travel Group. The campaign features a number of scenarios with playful headlines such as ‘We’re friends with (travel booking) benefits’ and ‘Corporate by name, not by nature’ which gives the campaign a cheekiness and levity […]

  • Tourism

Indaba 2024: Losing out on memory, South Africa Tourism hands its fate to children

Thembisile Sehloho was appointed as the new chief marketing officer (CMO) South Africa Tourism in early April, so she’s literally had her feet under the desk for just longer than a month. At Africa’s Travel Indaba, David Hovenden sat down with for her only Australian interview and discussed the work being done on South Africa […]

  • Luxury

COMO launches new family-sized farmhouse in the heart of Tuscany

COMO Hotels and Resorts has launched its new farmhouse apartments in the heart of Tuscany, just in time for Australians to escape our wet winter. And it’s also an ideal time for Aussies of Italian ancestry to explore their home country as 2024 has been declared the year of Roots and Heritage Tourism by the […]

  • Destinations
  • News

New Caledonia in lockdown and airport closed after violent riots rock Noumea

New Caledonia officials have announced a 6pm-6am curfew, a liquor ban and have closed the country’s main airport after overnight riots in which vehicles were torched and roads blocked in the wake of proposed constitutional reforms. Australian Government website Smartraveller has issued an alert informing visitors to exercise a high degree of caution in metropolitan […]