Premium Dining Renowned Chefs And Restaurants!

Hi Everyone,

I received this press release from Holland America and thought it
would be of interest. If you have missed any of my news' postings,
they are available on my web site.

Best regards,
Ray
LIGHTHOUSE TRAVEL
800-719-9917 or 805-566-3905
http://www.lighthousetravel.com


Premium Dining With Renowned Chefs And Restaurants Aboard ms Westerdam

Seattle
The ms Westerdam offers guests more dining choices than ever. Holland
America Line has always been a leader in premium cruise dining,
providing innovative dining concepts and the most extensive menus at
sea. The cruise line introduced enduring and popular concepts such as
the first Lido dining concept in the sixties and the Northwest-themed
Pinnacle Grill last year. The Westerdam offers four unique dining
venues with more than 500 menu choices on a typical seven-day cruise,
plus complimentary 24-hour room service. Deluxe Verandah and
Penthouse Suite guests can also enjoy refreshments presented in the
Neptune Lounge, a private concierge lounge.


The Vista Dining Room

The extensive menu in the Vista features at least five entrée choices
and the Executive Chef's daily recommendations. Menus on board the
Westerdam – and all Holland America Line ships – feature a blend of
modern Continental cuisine, regional specialties appropriate to each
cruising area and traditional favorites.

And because Holland America Line believes that the total dining
experience must be as impeccable as the service and quality of the
food, many enhancements are beginning to be made to the already
exquisite appointments found in each of the cruise line’s dining
rooms.

In addition, guests now can choose from four dinner seating times in
the main dining room. With two additional seating times, guests enjoy
greater flexibility to dine early or later and still can take
advantage of the Holland America Line’s celebrated evening
entertainment.

The Vista, Pinnacle Grill and Lido offer the option of cuisine for the
health-conscious and also vegetarian items that can be prepared with
or without eggs and dairy products. Special dietary requests are also
accommodated.

The Pinnacle Grill at the Odyssey Restaurant

The extremely popular reservations-only Pinnacle Grill at the Odyssey
Restaurant celebrates Pacific Northwest cuisines and select fine wines
in a romantic upscale atmosphere. The alternative restaurant offers
signature seafood and steak menu rivaling the best land-based
steakhouses. Distinctive Bulgari china, elegant Riedel stemware and
Frette linens take the Pinnacle Grill to a level of elegant
sophistication unmatched anywhere in the premium cruise category.

Menus include “Sterling Silver” premium hand-selected cuts of beef,
unsurpassed in tenderness and taste, including bone-in Delmonico
rib-eye steak, center-cut Porterhouse steak and two sizes of filet
mignon. Also featured are savory seafood dishes such as Northwest
clam chowder, Alaskan king salmon, and Dungeness crab cakes with
spiral shaved cucumber and sweet chili sauce. Delicious entrees are
complemented by a wide assortment of side dishes, including Washington
spuds au gratin, asparagus avec Béarnaise, sautéed button mushrooms or
a honey maple three-bean ragout. Guests can top off their meal by
choosing from a collection of delectable desserts such as warm Grand
Marnier chocolate volcano cake, lemon berry angel shortcake and
not-so-classic baked Alaska. Guests who wish to dine in the Pinnacle
Grill for dinner may do so with an advance reservation; there is a
modest charge of $20 per person.

Award-Winning Innovative Dining on the Lido Deck

The Lido deck on the Westerdam provides guests with breakfast, lunch
and dinner in a more casual setting than the dining room. Lines are
minimized with a variety of food stations that provide easier, quicker
access. The casual Terrace Grill has a new location and is now more
convenient to the entrance to the Lido restaurant, allowing guests
easy access to popular grill items.

For lunch the Lido features a new style of service with separate food
stations instead of the traditional serving line along a buffet.
Designed to reduce the amount of time guests are in line, the food
stations each offer different items so guests can choose only the
stations they prefer.

All the favorite Lido menu items are featured from made-to-order
omelets at breakfast to pizza, pasta, Asian stir-fry, deli sandwiches
and salads at lunch. And of course there are stations for
complimentary ice cream and desserts, including Holland America Line’s
signature bread pudding, and a salad bar. In the evenings, the Lido
becomes the casual dining venue with new made-to-order dinner entrees
and table-side waiter service in a very casual atmosphere. Late-night
buffets – a mainstay of the traditional cruise experience – are also
offered in the Lido after 11:00 p.m.

Windstar Café

Dining choices on the Westerdam also include the Windstar Café, where
guests can stop for an espresso or quick snack and chat with friends
from early morning to late night.

This pleasant café fronts on the Westerdam's Atrium and provides a
casual and friendly coffee house venue open 20 hours a day – from 5
a.m. to 1 a.m. Here, with views of the ocean and ports of call far
more intriguing than any other coffee bar in the world, guests can
relax with a specialty coffee, fruit smoothie or tea and nosh on
pastries, snacks, and deli sandwiches. The premium coffee that is
ground and pulled by baristas is Torrefazione Italia from Starbucks.
Liqueur and coffees are available in the evenings.

Confrerie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs

The entire fleet of Holland America Line ships has been inducted into
the prestigious Confrerie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, a gourmet
society founded in Paris and devoted to promoting the pleasures of the
table. In honor of this, the society created a special category of
Professional de la Marine and presented it to Holland America Line as
the first recipient.

ms Westerdam Latest in Series of Exclusive Vista-class Premium Vessels

With the delivery of its first 1,848-passenger Vista-class ship in
December 2002, Holland America Line immediately expanded its premium
appeal to a broader range of guests. While many additions to the ships
are newly evident — exterior elevators, two promenade decks,
multi-tiered show lounge, varied dining options — the Vista class
ships look and feel like others in Holland America’s fleet, delivering
the traditional on-board “HAL-marks” that made the company the
undisputed leader in premium cruising.

Like its sisters, ms Zuiderdam and ms Oosterdam, the new Westerdam
boasts a spacious design for public areas and staterooms with a high
passenger space ratio of 46. And 85 percent of its staterooms have
ocean views, with 67 percent of all staterooms sporting verandahs,
including the new value-priced stateroom category — Deluxe Verandah
Outside — the best verandah value at sea. Penthouse and Deluxe
Verandah Suite guests also enjoy the use of the private concierge
Neptune Lounge.

Additional features include TheGreenhouse Spa and Salon, a renowned
full-treatment spa, exercise facility and hair and nail salon; the
multi-level Vista Show Lounge; a second "cabaret-style" theater for
late-night entertainment and daytime first-run movies; and a golf
simulator. Two interior promenade decks, an exterior covered
promenade deck, Lido pool with a retractable dome, the Club HAL kids
and teens areas, and the signature Explorer’s Lounge and "Crow's Nest"
observation lounge are also featured.

About Holland America Line
In 2004, Holland America's fleet of 13, five-star, premium ships will
offer nearly 500 sailings from 15 North American home ports, including
new departures from Norfolk, VA; Baltimore, MD; and Boston, Mass.
Recent additions to the fleet include the 1,848-passenger Vista ships,
ms Zuiderdam and ms Oosterdam. In April 2004, the third Vista sister,
ms Westerdam joins the fleet. The fleet will visit all seven
continents in 2004, while increasing the number of cruises to popular
destinations such as Alaska (139 cruises scheduled), the Caribbean
(191), Europe (58) and Canada/New England (26).

Holland America excels in service, amenities and special programs.
Known for consistent and attentive service, its ships have one of the
highest staff-members-to-guest ratios. Spacious staterooms average 25
percent larger and verandahs twice as large as those on other lines'
ships. Menus are among the most extensive at-sea. Dining choices
include formal elegance, alternative specialty dining in the Pacific
Northwest-themed Pinnacle Grill, casual fare and complimentary 24-hour
room service.

The winner of the 10th consecutive "Best Overall Cruise Value" award
from the World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society (WOCLS), the line offers
the only trip cancellation program in the industry that provides cash
back for canceling for any reason prior to 24 hours before departure.
For more information, consult a professional travel agent.

World's Leading Cruise Lines
The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world in the 2003 Travel
& Leisure magazine "World's Best" Awards, Holland America is a member
of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also
includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line,
Seabourn Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and Windstar Cruises. Sharing a
passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value,
the member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. The
World's Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise
vacations to the world's most desirable destinations. Conde Nast
Traveler magazine readers also ranked Holland America Line as the top
premium cruise line in the world in the much-anticipated 2003 Readers'
Choice Awards.