Orange Party

The orange party is the biggest event on any Holland America itinerary. It truly is the most fun party that they offer so you should plan on attending. No need to wear orange but many do. Whether it be bright orange or a shade of coral or just an orange boa with silly glasses, the atmosphere is truly ORANGE!

(Showing off the line dances we learned- can you find Waldo?)

This is a good time to mention that there were several differences between the 2024 and 2025 thirty-five night itinerary. I believe that the 2025 did a much better job with the timing of events and offering various activities.

For example, in 2024 the orange party was held the day before Fararava. This was problematic for two reasons. The first is that there are nine sea days to get back to San Diego so why throw the orange party on a night when we all need to get up early? The second problem holding it on this day was the heat. This is during the hottest part of the entire trip. They did have the orange party on the Lido, but unfortunately, only half of the roof would retract leaving the party unbearably hot.. Most people left the party to head downstairs to the Rolling Stones rock room for air conditioning. I ended up moving a group to deck 11 where we could dance outside because the dance floor was scorching. I tried to get a mutiny going to hold a second orange party to no avail lol.

This year, the 2025 Orange party was held toward the end of the trip when the weather was cooler. They only needed to open the retractable roof a quarter and the temperature was perfect. We did some line dancing at this party, but like many things on Holland America, It ended by 10:30. However it was a great party while it lasted! .

This year, the Koningsdam crew also added a costume party and masquerade ball. Both had more participants than 2024, but neither of those compared to the amount of people who participated in the orange party. You can leave your masquerade stuff at home as they did have masks to make during art class that day. I saw maybe 10 costumes on the whole ship so you can skip packing that too, but don’t forget your orange!