HomeShips › Zuiderdam

Zuiderdam

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

Zuiderdam led the Vista class in 2002 at 81,769 GT, running a General Electric gas turbine alongside five diesels.

Length overall285 m
Beam32 m
Gross tonnage81,769 GT
Passengers1,916
Speed22 kn
Delivered2002
Our numbers

Derived metrics

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

Passengers per metre#114 of 116
6.7 pax/m passengers (double occupancy) ÷ length overall
Length-to-beam ratio#18 of 142
8.91 length overall ÷ beam
Sense of scale

How big is it, really?

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

Zuiderdam285 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 Zuiderdam = 1.06 Titanics · 2.7 football pitches · 11 blue whales · 3.7 Boeing 747-8s laid end to end.

Plan a sailing on Zuiderdam

As an Amazon Associate, ships.fyi earns from qualifying purchases. Some links in our guides are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.

Specification

The numbers

Length overall285 m
Beam32 m
Draught7.80 m max
Gross tonnage81,769 GT
Deadweight10,965 DWT
Passengers1,916 (2,272 max)
Crew842
Decks11 passenger, 15 total
Installed power51,840 kW combined
PropulsionAzipod, diesel + GE LM2500 gas turbine
Speed24 kn max, 22 kn service

Compare it

Put the Zuiderdam next to something

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

The story

What makes it different

Zuiderdam is the lead Vista-class ship and carries an unusual power plant: five Sulzer diesels working alongside a single General Electric LM2500 gas turbine, together producing 51,840 kW and driving the ship through Azipod thrusters.

The turbine was fitted for emissions rather than speed. Running it in port and in sensitive waters such as Alaska cuts local pollution sharply, at a fuel cost the line accepted — the same reasoning that put gas turbines in Celebrity's Millennium class around the same time.

Her hull is one of the most widely reused designs in the industry. The Vista platform also produced Cunard's Queen Victoria and P&O's Arcadia, all three from Fincantieri, all three finished to look like completely different ships. Zuiderdam's name means south — the first corner of her class's compass set.

The class

The Zuiderdam line

Vista class
Lead ship of four, built by Fincantieri at Marghera between 2002 and 2006. The class name refers to the extensive glazing in the superstructure.
Shared platform
The Vista hull also underpins Cunard's Queen Victoria and P&O's Arcadia — the same Fincantieri design finished three different ways for three Carnival Corporation brands.
Operators

Who operates the Zuiderdam

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

HALHolland America LineCaribbean, Panama Canal and Antarctica-adjacent South America itineraries.1
Quick answers

Zuiderdam, asked and answered

How long is the Zuiderdam?
285 m (935 ft) length overall — the #129 longest of the 142 ships on ships.fyi, and 2.7 football pitches end to end.
How big is the Zuiderdam compared to the Titanic?
The Zuiderdam is 1.06× the Titanic's length — 285 m against her 269.06 m. By volume the gap is starker still: 81,769 GT against Titanic's 46,328 GRT — roughly 1.8 times the tonnage, measured across two different rule eras.
Who operates the Zuiderdam?
Holland America Line. Current status: in service.
Does the Zuiderdam fit through the Panama Canal?
Yes — at 285 m by 32 m on a 7.8 m draft, the Zuiderdam fits the original Panamax locks, and the larger Neopanamax locks with ease.