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Westerdam

Holland America Line · Cruise · In service · built by Fincantieri

Westerdam entered service in 2004, the third of the four compass-named Vista-class ships.

Length overall285 m
Beam32 m
Gross tonnage82,862 GT
Passengers1,916
Speed22 kn
Delivered2004
Our numbers

Derived metrics

Computed by ships.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.

Passengers per metre#112 of 116
6.7 pax/m passengers (double occupancy) ÷ length overall
Length-to-beam ratio#16 of 142
8.91 length overall ÷ beam
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

The Westerdam's length overall, against things you already know the size of.

Westerdam285 m
Eiffel Tower (height)330 m
Titanic269.06 m
Football pitch105 m
Boeing 747-876.3 m
Blue whale25 m
You (probably)1.75 m

The 747-8 held the longest-airliner record for over a decade, until Boeing's 777-9 took it by about 19 inches (76.72 m) — our sibling site aircraft.fyi measures everything that flies the same way.

One Westerdam = 1.06 Titanics · 2.7 football pitches · 11 blue whales · 3.7 Boeing 747-8s laid end to end.

Plan a sailing on Westerdam

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Specification

The numbers

Length overall≈285 m
Beam32 m
Draught≈7.8 m
Gross tonnage≈82,862 GT
Passengers≈1,916 (double)
Crew≈800
Decks11 passenger decks
Speed≈22 kn service
Entered serviceApril 2004

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Put the Westerdam next to something

Last verified: 2026-07-15 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi

The story

What makes it different

Westerdam is the third Vista-class ship and, like her sisters, built around a diesel-electric plant driving Azipod thrusters — pods that both propel and steer, doing away with conventional rudders and shafts.

At around 83,000 gross tons and 285 metres she sits in the size band that has become unusual: too big to be a boutique ship, small enough to work Asian and Alaskan ports that the 200,000-ton generation cannot approach.

She spends much of her year in Asia, which is a deliberate deployment for the class. Holland America builds long, port-heavy itineraries rather than short Caribbean loops, and the Vista ships are the right size for that work.

The class

The Westerdam line

Vista class
Third of four. The name has been used by Holland America since 1946; this is the fourth Westerdam.
Operators

Who operates the Westerdam

All 1 operator of record, verified 2026-07-15. Figures marked ≈ are approximate.

HALHolland America LineAsia, Alaska and Pacific itineraries.1
Quick answers

Westerdam, asked and answered

How long is the Westerdam?
285 m (935 ft) length overall — the #127 longest of the 142 ships on ships.fyi, and 2.7 football pitches end to end.
How big is the Westerdam compared to the Titanic?
The Westerdam is 1.06× the Titanic's length — 285 m against her 269.06 m. By volume the gap is starker still: 82,862 GT against Titanic's 46,328 GRT — roughly 1.8 times the tonnage, measured across two different rule eras.
Who operates the Westerdam?
Holland America Line. Current status: in service.
Does the Westerdam fit through the Panama Canal?
Yes — at 285 m by 32 m on a 7.8 m draft, the Westerdam fits the original Panamax locks, and the larger Neopanamax locks with ease.