Holland America Line is adding a Magnolia Bakery gingerbread cake to the Dining Room menu on its holiday cruises this year. The cake is new for 2026, and it joins a set of meals and traditions that runs from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, including one that shipboard culinary teams spend hours planning and building.
On a holiday cruise, someone else does the planning. That leaves more time for the meals and the people you’re traveling with. “The holidays are a time when traditions and togetherness matter most, and traveling doesn’t mean leaving those traditions behind,” said Michael Stendebach, a vice president at Holland America Line.
Holiday Sailings Run From Thanksgiving to New Year’s
Holland America Line celebrates Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s on its holiday voyages, from Caribbean islands to Antarctica’s glaciers. Every holiday cruise gets seasonal decor and a tree lighting. Expect carol singing and holiday movies too, plus a champagne toast to welcome 2027 at the New Year’s Eve parties.
A Magnolia Bakery Cake and a Gingerbread Village on Every Ship
The cake’s official name is the Magnolia Gingerbread Cake, and it grew out of Holland America’s existing partnership with Magnolia Bakery.
Each ship’s culinary team builds its own gingerbread village, with a design no other ship uses. The teams spend hours planning and baking the pieces before they assemble each display.
Breakfast With Santa and the Feast of the Seven Fishes
Thanksgiving dinner opens the holiday menus, and Nutcracker Tea is on the schedule too. Christmas starts with Breakfast with Santa, while Christmas Eve brings the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
Menus also include latkes, turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. The drinks list adds seasonal cocktails like the Rudolph the Red Margarita and the Minty Elf Martini, plus coffees such as the Vanilla Gingerbread Latte.
Save on Sunshine Adds a Booking Bonus Through Oct. 21
Holland America’s Save on Sunshine offer takes up to 50% off fares on select departures, and kids sail free as the third and fourth guest in the same stateroom. Anyone who books Oct. 13-21 also gets up to $200 in onboard credit per stateroom and a free night of specialty dining on select holiday cruises.
Sample holiday sailings range from a seven-day Baja Peninsula trip to a 15-day Panama Canal crossing.
- The seven-day Baja Peninsula cruise on Koningsdam sails round-trip from San Diego on Nov. 21.
- Zaandam’s 15-day Panama Canal Holiday cruise leaves San Diego for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Dec. 19.
- The 11-day Eastern Caribbean Holiday cruise on Rotterdam sails round-trip from Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 22.
- Eurodam’s seven-day Western Caribbean Holiday cruise sails round-trip from Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 26.
Before you book, check the sailing dates against your own holiday calendar, or ask a travel advisor to compare them for you. Once you’re on board, order a Christmas Cocoamint Coffee. Then find out for yourself whether it goes with a slice of that new Magnolia gingerbread cake in the Dining Room.