Holland America Line changes name of newbuild to iconic ‘Rotterdam’

Holland America Line changes name of newbuild to iconic ‘Rotterdam’

In honour of some of the most memorable ships in Holland America Line’s nearly 150-year history, the premium cruise line is changing the name of its newbuild from Ryndam to Rotterdam and designating it the new flagship of its fleet.

The move comes not long after HAL announced it would offload Rotterdam, along with three of its other vessels, to “undisclosed buyers”. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has since been revealed as the buyer of Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The seventh ship to bear this historic name, Rotterdam will be delivered on 30 July 2021; pushed back slightly from its original delivery of May 2021 due to the global health situation.

When Rotterdam is delivered from Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy, it will spend the summer exploring Northern Europe and the Baltic on roundtrip cruises from Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

A render of the newbuild Rotterdam (image source: Holland America Line)

Guests and travel advisors with clients who were booked on the ship’s ‘Premiere Voyage’ in May and itineraries through to 30 July are being contacted with rebooking options.

Newly-appointed HAL president Gus Antorcha said: “The first ship for Holland America Line was the original Rotterdam, the company was headquartered in the city of Rotterdam for many years, and the name has been a hallmark throughout our history since 1872 … so clearly the name is powerful and symbolic.

“With the current Rotterdam leaving the company, we knew we had a unique opportunity to embrace the name as our new flagship and carry on the tradition of having a Rotterdam in our fleet.

“Seven is a lucky number, and we know she’s going to bring a lot of joy to our guests as she travels across the globe.”


Featured image source: Holland America Line

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