Zaandam
Holland America Line · Cruise · In service · built by Fincantieri
Zaandam entered service in 2000 at around 61,396 GT, an R-class ship themed on music and among the smallest in the fleet.
Derived metrics
Computed by ships.fyi from the core specification — see how we calculate these.
How big is it, really?
The Zaandam's length overall, against things you already know the size of.
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 Zaandam = 0.88 Titanics · 2.3 football pitches · 9 blue whales · 3.1 Boeing 747-8s laid end to end.
Plan a sailing on Zaandam
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The numbers
| Length overall | ≈237.1 m |
|---|---|
| Beam | ≈32.2 m |
| Gross tonnage | ≈61,396 GT |
| Passengers | ≈1,432 (double) |
| Crew | ≈615 |
| Decks | 10 passenger decks |
| Speed | ≈22 kn |
| Entered service | May 2000 |
Put the Zaandam next to something
Last verified: 2026-07-15 · Spot an error? business@luck.fyi
What makes it different
Zaandam is one of the two oldest ships Holland America operates and the more characterful of the pair. Her interior theme is music, and the line committed to it properly: a Dutch street organ in the atrium, and a collection of instruments signed by artists including Queen and Iggy Pop.
At around 61,000 gross tons and 237 metres she is less than a third the size of the largest cruise ships afloat, which is the point. R-class ships reach ports that are physically closed to the current generation, and Holland America builds long exploratory itineraries around exactly that.
She had a difficult 2020 — like several ships she spent weeks at sea during the pandemic while ports refused entry, before eventually disembarking passengers in Florida. She returned to service and continues to work the long-haul routes the class was bought for.
The Zaandam line
Rotterdam class (R class)
The music theme
Who operates the Zaandam
All 1 operator of record, verified 2026-07-15. Figures marked ≈ are approximate.
HALHolland America LineAlaska, South America and long exploratory itineraries.1✓→