When Holland America Line recently added a new Culinary Arts Center to the final ship in the fleet, all structural changes originally envisioned for the company’s $225 million Signature of Excellence initiative were complete. The comprehensive Signature of Excellence upgrades announced nearly three years ago in November 2003 triggered an industry trend of fleet rejuvenations and enhancements to meet the demands of an expanding set of discriminating cruise vacationers.

Signature of Excellence features and amenities are evident in every aspect of the Holland America Line cruise experience, offering guests more luxurious accommodations, more enticing destinations, enhanced dining experiences, more creative activities and even higher levels of service.

"We invested to realize a vision, and that vision was to make our brand experience even more relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s premium traveler," said Stein Kruse, president and CEO of Holland America Line. "I believe we’ve not only delivered on our promise, but exceeded expectations."

ms Noordam Stateroom

Category SS

Photo Courtesy of Holland America Line

All told during the two-year implementation, 12 Holland America ships spent nearly 200 days in drydock receiving enhancements such as the Mariner’s Dream stateroom experience with premium comfort appointments, the Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine, Explorations Cafe – powered by The New York Times, exclusive Pinnacle Grill restaurant, refurbished Crow’s Nest observation lounge, expanded youth facilities and enhanced Greenhouse Spa and Salon.

A broad range of employees led by Mike Novak, vice president, marine operations, was involved in every aspect of Signature of Excellence, from conception to the final products. Novak’s team oversaw the work of nearly 2,000 people, including shipyard workers, contractors and ship personnel. They tested and retested hundreds of items to ensure quality, coordinated delivery schedules and oversaw complex installations.

Other statistics on Signature of Excellence include:

The premium line also is making additional enhancements to the first three Vista-class ships, carrying on the spirit of Signature of Excellence. The fourth Vista-class ship, ms Noordam, was delivered in February with all Signature of Excellence enhancements installed, including an Explorations Café and Pinnacle Bar. These venues, which have been enthusiastically received by guests on Noordam and the rest of the fleet, will be added in the next few years to ms Westerdam, ms Zuiderdam and ms Oosterdam. Those ships also will receive new aft staterooms, increasing their guest capacity to 1,918 — the same as Noordam. All of these changes go beyond the original scope of the Signature of Excellence program. The spirit of excellence also is reflected in the new namesake Signature-class ship, which will be named in the near future and debut in the summer of 2008.