Holland America Line has announced it is changing the name of it’s newbuild ship due to launch in 2021.
Formerly scheduled to be named Ryndam, the ship which is expected to be delivered on 30 July 2021, will now be named Rotterdam and will become the new flagship of the almost 150-year-old company.
“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,” said Gus Antorcha, Holland America Line’s president. “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.”
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, the Netherlands. The ship was due to be delivered in May 2021, but has been delayed slightly due to construction delays as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rotterdam will embark on her Premiere Voyage on 1 August 2021 departing from Trieste to Civitavecchia, Italy. The ship will then sail a 14-night cruise on 8 August from Civitavecchia to Amsterdam.
From August until October, the ship will sail roundtrip from Amsterdam on three seven-day itineraries to Norway, one 14-day to the Baltic and one 14-day to Norway, Iceland and the British Isles. A transatlantic completes the inaugural Europe season with a 14-day voyage from Amsterdam to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
To accommodate guests booked on cancelled itineraries of Ryndam from May through July, Nieuw Statendam cruise itineraries also will see some changes to match up as much as possible with former Ryndam sailings.
Guests affected are being contacted with rebooking options.