Holland America Line is charting a wide arc of ice, rainforest, and storied cities with a newly released 2027-2028 program that links Antarctica’s stark beauty to South America’s cultural heartlands. If you have been waiting for a big, well-paced voyage where ship days carry you from glaciers to green canopies without frenzy, this season reads like your map.
From November 2027 to March 2028, HAL will operate 14 to 31-day itineraries across South America and Antarctica on Zuiderdam and Oosterdam, embarking from Buenos Aires, San Antonio, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, with scenic days in the Chilean fjords and Bruggen Glacier, plus options that include access to Machu Picchu and segments on the Amazon, offering diverse wildlife viewing, longer dwell times, and smoother logistics.
This calendar is built for travellers who want range without chaos. The routes connect ice shelves, Patagonian channels, Andean gateways, and tropical rivers in a sequence that makes geographic and emotional sense. The pacing favours unhurried viewing from the deck, meaningful shore time, and evenings that feel restorative rather than rushed.
Choice matters when you are planning a complex holiday. The season offers compact 14-day sweeps for travellers who want a concentrated highlight reel, mid-length options that add depth without stretching leave balances, and extended journeys up to 31 days that let you sit with Antarctica when the weather smiles and linger where the rainforest hums. Longer arcs create room for changing conditions, wildlife moments, and that golden hour on deck you will talk about for years.
Embarkations from Buenos Aires, San Antonio for Santiago, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami make air planning more flexible. Starting in South America puts you close to Patagonia and the ice early, beginning in North America gives you a gentler ramp into the latitude shift. Either way, the gateway spread helps travellers from Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, and North America find a sensible path that fits their calendar and budget.
Sailing from November through March aligns with the austral spring and summer. In Antarctica, daylight stretches and colonies grow lively, with penguins commuting between rookery and sea while seabirds trace arcs overhead. Along the Pacific, calmer passages favour fjord cruising. On the Amazon, warm days and glassy bends set the stage for botos and birdlife. These months stack the odds toward activity and workable weather.
Antarctica is about proportion, sound, and the way air feels when you face a wall of ice. The 2027-2028program points to signatures like the Bruggen Glacier, plus shoreline days where penguin colonies turn the horizon into a moving pattern. The ship becomes your quiet platform for observation, with approach angles and linger time tuned to conditions.
The Bruggen Glacier reads like a frozen cliff that edits your sense of scale. Time on deck matters because the show unfolds in temperature shifts, subtle fractures, and sudden calvings that thunder across the water. Photography is better when you slow down, let your eyes adapt, and frame the scene with context, sea ice in the foreground and that immense blue in the back.
Antarctic life clusters where the ocean meets the land. Watch for penguin highways, seals hauled out on bergy bits, and skuas that patrol the margins. The richness of the water below is written in the traffic above. Give yourself permission to simply watch, coffee in hand, while the scene edits itself. Not every moment needs a lens; some reward silence and a longer look.
Layering is your friend on polar hours. Pack a windproof shell, a warm mid-layer, a hat and gloves you can use with a camera, and a neck gaiter for deck time. Stable footwear matters on cool, damp surfaces. The aim is comfort that lets you stay outside long enough to notice the way light slides across the ice as afternoon leans to evening.
South of the cities, you find channels that carve between steep green walls, with waterfalls that stitch the granite and clouds that move like theatre curtains. This is the breathing space between Antarctica and the Andes, and it rewards travellers who enjoy quiet scenery punctuated by the occasional fishing village or far-off lighthouse.
Patagonian channels invite a slower helm. You get close quarters that still feel unhurried, with the ship easing past rock gardens and braided streams that tumble out of hanging valleys. Bring binoculars for distant ridgelines, watch for shifts in water colour near glacial outflows, and keep an eye on the deck flags to read the breeze before you step outside.
When the itinerary calls at southern towns, the best days are simple. Find a bakery, follow your nose to the waterfront, and let a local guide point out the history etched into stone and timber. Many travellers prefer light plans in these ports, allowing time for unplanned conversations, small museums, and a final look back at the hills before sailing away.
Fjord light is soft and changeable. A polarising filter can tame glare on water, and a small cloth keeps your lens ready in damp air. Remember to put the camera down occasionally. The memory of wind on your face and the sound of water against the hull often outlasts the images on your card.
The cultural half of this season balances the spectacle of ice with human stories and layered ecosystems. Overland access to Machu Picchu anchors the Andean thread, while Amazon segments add a completely different rhythm to your days.
For many travellers, the itinerary is a chance to realise a long-held wish to stand among Inca stonework with mountains as a frame. The altitude is real, so pacing, hydration, and footwear matter. The reward is a day that sits differently in memory than a coastal call, a moment where engineering, empire, and landscape meet.
On the river, time feels elastic. Early mornings and late afternoons are prime for the boto, the pink river dolphin that surfaces briefly, then melts back into tea-dark water. Listen for bird calls layered over the steady beat of local traffic, watch for mirrored reflections on bends, and let the ship’s slower pace echo the river’s mood.
Where banks flatten and grasses thicken, look for capybaras lounging at the waterline or moving in pairs. Night turns the soundscape electric with insects and frogs, a reminder that the rainforest is a twenty-four-hour theatre. Patience, a small pair of binoculars, and a willingness to be surprised make these segments feel generous.
A program this varied benefits from a clear plan that respects your preferences. We match dates and duration to your travel style, recommend staterooms that make climate shifts easy to manage, and build shore days around the experiences you care about most. The goal is a voyage that feels considered rather than crowded.
Zuiderdam and Oosterdam deliver the same core promise, so the first decision is duration. Fourteen days provide a concentrated arc from ice to city. Stretching to three weeks or more layers in extra fjords, more time on the river, and a better chance of catching Antarctica in cooperative light. We map these choices to your calendar and appetite for sea days.
Your cabin is a refuge across cold and warm zones. Mid-ship locations help with ride comfort, balcony angles matter for photography, and proximity to indoor observation spaces can make deck transitions smoother on windy days. Once we lock the right category and position, we align dining times, spa appointments, and enrichment sessions to your shore priorities.
Pack breathable layers, a compact waterproof, sun protection for the tropics, and insect management for the Amazon. For Andean heights, plan a gentler pace and hydration so the view wins over the climb. Small details count, from glove liners that work with phone screens to a dry bag for cameras on damp decks.
Before you shortlist dates, it helps to see how the season’s routes sit against your calendar and wish list. Our Cruise Finder lets you compare durations and port mixes at a glance, then save the combinations that fit the balance you want between ice, fjords, city days, and river time. Explore live sailings.
If you are travelling from Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, or North America, the same tool helps you picture flight paths into each embarkation city and plan pre or post-cruise stays. Once you have two or three favourites, we will confirm availability and secure your preferred category. Start narrowing options.
The 2027-2028calendar is a confident answer for travellers who want both spectacle and substance. With the Chilean fjords, the Bruggen Glacier, Andean icons, and the Amazon’s living theatre in one season, HAL has assembled a portfolio that lets you cross climates and cultures in a single, coherent journey. If this sounds like your kind of holiday, start your plan with us, chat with our cruise specialist, and we will align dates, staterooms, and shore days to your style, then take care of the moving parts while you focus on what you want to see.