Holland America Line has announced that Prinsendam will leave its fleet in July next year, and transfer to the German cruise company Phoenix Reisen.

With the sale of the 37,983-ton, 835-guest Prinsendam complete, the ship will be chartered back to Holland America Line to continue sailing its planned voyages until next year.

Prinsendam’s itineraries from July 1st next year onward are scheduled to be taken up by other ships in the fleet, including Rotterdam, Volendam and Veendam.

Holland America Line will be reaching out to booked guests and their travel professionals to re-accommodate guests on these cruises. 

“Prinsendam has proudly served our guests since 2002, and we share in the fondness that many of our loyal cruisers have for this special ship,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line.

“As we look to the future and focus on delivering the programming and innovations that our guests are asking for, we remain focused on exceeding guest expectations on every cruise and will continue to offer the unique itineraries that Prinsendam sailed on our other smaller ships.”

Prinsendam was built in 1988 as Royal Viking Sun for Royal Viking Line.

The ship was operated by Cunard Line from 1994 through 1998 and then transferred to Seabourn Cruise Line where it became Seabourn Sun in 1999.

In 2002 the ship joined the Holland America Line fleet and was renamed Prinsendam.

Phoenix Reisen is a Germany-based travel agency that also operates a fleet of cruise ships and first began operating cruises under its own brand in 1988.

Today, their ships include ms Amadea, ms Artania, ms Albatros and ms Deutschland, and the company also operates approximately 50 riverboats.