Holland America Presents ‘Cake Me Away’ Dessert Extravaganza

Holland America’s pastry chefs across the fleet will showcase their favorite desserts during Cake Me Away, a new Lido Market dessert celebration.

Launching in time for National Cake Day on Nov. 26, Cake Me Away presents over 22 five-layer cakes in 16 flavors, according to a press release. 

The cruise line’s international pastry team has also crafted a selection of mini-jar cakes to be added to the daily dessert rotation at Sweet Spot in Lido Market.

 “Our pastry team has some of the most talented chefs in the world, and Cake Me Away allows us to bring flavors from their home countries to our guests,” said Michael Stendebach, vice president of food, beverage and guest services at Holland America Line. “The culinary team is always developing new ideas, and Cake Me Away gives them the opportunity to share their favorites and introduce new original cakes for our guests to enjoy.”

Cake Me Away desserts include gluten-free, vegan and no-sugar added options.

 Featured flavors include:

• Mille Crepe Cake with layers of cream and crepes;
• Heaven and Hell Cake with peanut butter frosting;
• Concorde Cake, a gluten-free option made from chocolate meringue.
• Almond Roca Cake with homemade almond roca (a hard toffee with chopped nuts and chocolate);
• Sans Rival Cake with buttercream, meringue and chopped cashews;
• Carrot Cake with warm spices, chopped nuts and cream cheese frosting;
• Cookies and Cream Cake with crushed chocolate cookies;
• Crème Brûlée Cake, with vanilla cake, creamy custard and pastry cream.

The mini-jar cakes offered daily will feature flavors such as Black Forest, Carrot Cake, Key Lime Pie, Red Velvet and S’mores.

Holland America: Full Fleet Shore Power Ready

Following the shore power installation on the Volendam, Holland America Line’s entire fleet is now equipped for shore power connectivity.

The Volendam recently completed its installation in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was connected to the port’s shoreside electricity for a full day on September 27.

“At Holland America Line, our legacy of exceptional onboard care extends to caring for the planet, and having our entire fleet capable of shore power connection is a tremendous milestone in our sustainability efforts,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “We have committed to reducing our carbon emission intensity by 20 per cent by 2030 from our 2019 baseline, and we’re on our way to reaching that goal through a variety of initiatives that include shore power. We look forward to more global ports embracing shore power capability in the future and are ready to work with them to connect.”

Ports that the cruise line’s ships visit with shore power include Juneau, Alaska; New York; San Francisco and San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver, Canada; Bergen, Ålesund and Kristiansand, Norway; Kiel, Germany; and Shanghai and Xiamen, China.

Holland America Line began converting ships for shore power connectivity in 2006 with its four Vista Class ships.

The cruise line’s Pinnacle Class ships (the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and the Rotterdam) all were built with shore power systems installed, while the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam were launched with a partial installation that has since been completed.

In addition to shore power, the company has also adopted a variety of environmental practices such as banning single-use plastics onboard and using biodegradable or paper-based alternatives.

“We’ve made our packaging changes in a thoughtful manner to ensure that we can both reduce our footprint and also maintain our outstanding guest experience,” added Antorcha.

Holland America Line to cruise from Dover for the first time in 10 years

Dover photoed from a leaving cruise line photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)

Holland America Line will sail a full season of round-trip itineraries from Dover for the first time in more than 10 years.

The line will base Pinnacle-class ship Nieuw Statendam out of the UK port for 10 departures in the summer of 2025.
 
From Dover, the vessel will sail itineraries ranging from 14 to 42 days to the Canary Islands, British Isles, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Iberia and the eastern Mediterranean.
 
In addition to Dover, HAL will depart from nine homeports throughout Europe, with an increase in cruises over 10 days, more sailings to Iceland and a combined 62 overnight calls or late-night departures in leading cities.
 
“We’re really excited about Nieuw Statendam homeporting in Dover for a whole season in 2025 and the additional opportunities this provides to the trade, as well as our guests,” said Karen Farndell, director of UK sales and marketing.
 
“The itineraries look incredible and varied, offering something for everyone – beyond Dover, our 10 homeports span Europe, and in 2025 we’re offering the most diverse range of itineraries that include everything from week-long holidays to the Med to month-long explorations to the Arctic.”
She praised the line’s travel agent partners for their continued support and commitment throughout the company’s milestone 150th year.
 
Other highlights of HAL’s 2025 Europe cruising season include seven-day Norway and Denmark and Norwegian Fjords itineraries onboard Rotterdam, while Oosterdam will sail its entire season in the Mediterranean on cruises from Piraeus, Barcelona, Civitavecchia and Trieste.
 
Nieuw Statendam visits the Canary Islands on a 14-day Canary Island Enchantment with Morocco and Portugal cruise departing on 20 April 2025, and the Voyage of the Vikings itinerary returns in 2025 onboard Zuiderdam.