New Ship Preview: Holland America’s Rotterdam

The Rotterdam will be the seventh ship in the history of the Holland America fleet to carry this name. The ship was originally named the Ryndam but Holland America changed it to Rotterdam following the sale of the previous Rotterdam to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines in 2020.

The new Rotterdam is a sister to the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, part of Holland America’s Pinnacle-class of ships.

Ship: Rotterdam Cruise Line: Holland America

Capacity: 2,650 passengers Shipyard: Fincantieri, Italy

Estimated Delivery Date: July 2021

Features and Design: The 297-meter ship has 12 decks and 1,340 cabins. The what seems like never-ending entertainment includes live music spaces like the Rolling Stone Rock Room, the Lincoln Center Stage, Billboard Onboard, World Stage, and B.B. King’s Blues Club; a BBC Earth in Concert, a Microsoft Studio for creating photo albums and travel videos; the Greenhouse Spa & Salon; a casino; children’s club; and more.

The Rotterdam will also offer 11 dining experiences: from burgers and pizza to sushi and seafood, as well as dedicated French, Asian, and Italian restaurants. It also offers 24-hour in-room dining for those who get peckish at less convenient hours.

Debut Season: The Rotterdam is scheduled to spend summer 2021 exploring Northern Europe and the Baltic on roundtrip cruises from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Following Itineraries: In autumn 2021, the Rotterdam is scheduled to embark on a couple of transatlantic voyages to and from the U.S., from where the vessel will change to Caribbean itineraries all the way until April 2022.

‘Positive Signs’ as Holland America Moving Six Ships Toward U.S.

Holland America Line is preparing for a gradual restart and is said to be moving six cruise ships toward the U.S. citing positive signs and a new conversation around the return to service.

The news came in a letter sent to crew from President Gus Antorcha, reported by Crew Center, and also obtained by Cruise Industry News.

“Following in-depth discussions with the CDC, other government agencies, and medical and science authorities, we have decided to start moving six Holland America Line ships toward U.S. waters over the next several weeks to begin completing the requirements for conditional sailing,” Antorcha said in the letter sent to the crew.

The ships heading to U.S. waters are the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam, and Noordam. Holland America did not specify port information but the line has traditionally had a strong presence in the winter from Port Everglades and Tampa, which would pull from a large drive-to market.

“While there is still much to be done, this is an important first step toward our goal of resuming cruise operation,” the letter said.

“Holland America Line will continue to work with the CDC on our eventual return to guest cruise operations. We are fully aligned with the CDC on our top priorities for compliance, protecting the environment, and the health, safety, and well-being of our guests, the people in communities we touch, our crew, and shoreside employees.”

Holland America Line takes delivery of Nieuw Statendam ship

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The new Holland America Line ship Nieuw Statendam has been delivered by Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Venice.

The vessel is the 16th Holland America Line ship built by Fincantieri and is the line’s second Pinnacle-class ship after Koningsdam, delivered in 2016.

Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri will also build the third vessel in the series, due to be delivered in 2021.

Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation’s chairman; Arnold Donald, the corporation’s president and chief executive; Stein Kruse, the chief executive of Holland America Group; and Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, all attended yesterday’s ceremony.

According to the shipbuilding team, the 99,500-tonne vessel’s technology is aimed at ensuring energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact.

Fincantieri is currently designing or building 53 other ships across all of its yards.