Other Things You'll Want to Know - January 5, 2017

CND subscribers also read about:

• HAL's Koningsdam beginning a new streak
• Costa Luminosa beginning its world cruise
• Another British travel firm shuts down
• Rats in Jamaica

Details appeared in the January 5 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - June 24, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Crystal Serenity passing US Coast Guard compliance tests it will need for its historic Northwest Passage voyage from Seward to New York in August. 
• Staffers at Carnival's UK headquarters in Southampton are worried their jobs will be affected with a shift of some of them to Germany in September. 
• We also have a step-by-step guide to how Koningsdam was built. 

Coast Guard inspectors observe crew members aboard Crystal Serenity as they test the capabilities of a crane and the hydrostatic release life raft in Juneau on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of US Coast Guard. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without permission.

Queen Maxima Names Koningsdam

Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands named Holland America's Koningsdam in Rotterdam this morning. Prior to the actual naming, she also participated in the line's tradition of the blessing of the ship's bell.

At the earlier ceremony, Holland America president Orlando Ashford announced that the line's next ship, a sister to Koningsdam due to be delivered in 2018, will be named Nieuw Statendam.

The complete story appeared in the May 20 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Her Majesty Queen Maxima blesses Koningsdam's bell.

With a pull of the cord and a bump of her hat, Queen Maxima officially names Koningsdam

And this is what happened outside

Photos copyright Holland America Line and Cruise News Daily. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Originally published May 20, 2016 - 6:23am 
updated 11:59pm

Other Things You'll Want to Know - May 3, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Royal Caribbean finishes expansion of VOOM internet service fleetwide.
• The word "barbeque" will soon create a panic on Costa ships.
• Adam Tihany, the interior architect of Holland America's new Koningsdam, continues his discussion of his theory of design in the video below. 

Details appeared in the May 3 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Royal Godmother for Koningsdam

Her Majesty Queen Maxima

Holland America Line said this morning that Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands has consented to name ms Koningsdam in Rotterdam on May 20.

Her Majesty will carry on a tradition of the Royal Family christening Holland America ships that dates back to 1929 when Prince Hendrik launched Statendam III. Over the years the Royal Family has named 11 ships for the line, the most recent was when then-Princess Maxima christened Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010.

Details appeared in the April 18 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - April 7, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Royal Caribbean International beginning to offer multi-day shore excursions.
• Carnival Foundation awarding 15 South Florida high school students four-year college scholarships. The program mentors them before they reach high school and all the way through high school. Over the past 14 yeas, Carnival has provided more than $2.3 million to purchase scholarships for 105 students. 
• Fincantieri delivered Koningsdam to Holland America Line last week, and the Italian builder provides a unique perspective on the ship in the video below.

Details appeared in the April 7 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Other Things You'll Want to Know - April 1, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• A challenge the crew of Koningsdam faces being the first HAL ship to muster passengers indoors.
• Viking Ocean Cruises' second ship was just delivered last week, but the two ships have already crossed paths at a port of call. 
• Carnival plans to launch Carnival Triumph at its new home port on Monday with a unique New Orleans competition for charity, funded by the cruise line.

 Details appeared in the April 1 edition of Cruise News Daily.

First Pinnacle Delivered

Fincantieri delivered the 99,500-ton Koningsdam to Holland America this afternoon at their Marghera yard. M/S Koningsdam is the first of the Pinnacle class.

The papers were signed by Holland America president Orlando Ashford and shipyard Director Antonio Quintano, and that signaled for the flag change to take place where the Italian flag was lowered and the Dutch flag was raised for the first time. Koningsdam is registered in the Netherlands.

Main Dining Room aboard Koningsdam

HAL's Master Chef Rudi Sodamin in the Sel de Mer Restaurant aboard Koningsdam

Photos courtesy of Holland America Line. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - March 23, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Holland America's Koningsdam is nearing handover to the line. In the seventh video in the Countdown to Koningsdam series, Hotel Director Stan Kuppens talks about the officers and crew arriving at the shipyard. 
• P&O's Britannia will be skipping it's call at Zeebrugge (Belgium) this weekend due to the tragic events in Belgium earlier this week. 
• Century Casinos will expand to operate the casino aboard Thomson Discovery. 

Details appeared in the  March 23 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You’ll Want to Know - March 10, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Terrorism threat in Bali cancels two more cruise calls. 
• The port pledges New Orleans' two cruise terminals will remain open daily despite torrential rains that are closing many offices/businesses in the city. 
• In the second video in the series (below) Adam Tihany continues discussion of his design theory for Holland America's Koningsdam. In this part he focuses on the dining venues. 

Koningsdam Back from Sea Trials and Captain Is Talking about It

Koningsdam has returned to the Fincantieri yard at Marghera from its sea trials, and Capt Emiel de Vries talks about it and his “office” aboard the ship - the bridge - in the sixth episode of the Countdown to Koningsdam video series.

The complete story appeared in the March 1 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Behind the Design

Holland America has another video series beginning about Koningsdam. This one is a conversation with the ship’s interior designer Adam Tihany about his design concepts for the ship.

In the first video he reveals how the “Architecture of Music” and the curves of particular instruments influenced public spaces on the ship.

The video is below.

Details appeared in the February 18 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Koningsdam Gets Closer and Closer

As Koningsdam’s April delivery draws closer, Holland America is showing us more and more of the ship. In the fifth installment of their video series, Countdown to Koningsdam, SVP of Guest Experience and Product Development, Michael Smith, shows us the main dining room, which like most of the interior spaces were created by hospitality architect Adam Tihany.

The complete story appeared in the February 12 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Other Things You'll Want to Know - February 9, 2016

CND subscribers also read about:

• Royal Caribbean slowed down Anthem of the Seas' return to Cape Liberty today, so it will arrive later on Wednesday. 
• Royal Caribbean declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per common share.
• We have the fourth episode below of Holland America's Countdown to Koningsdam video series. This one previews the staterooms, including new specialty types. 

Details appeared in the February 9 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Taking Koningsdam for a Spin

A sure since that delivery is nearing, Fincantieri took Holland America's Koningsdam out on its second set of sea trials in the Adriatic last week. It was the first opportunity to really look over the new class of ship.

The complete story appeared in the January 19 edition of Cruise News Daily.

By courtesy of FINCANTIERI S.p.A. All rights reserved. May not be copied or used without express permission.

When You Want Fresh ...

One of the features of Holland America’s new Koningsdam will be a greatly expanded Culinary Arts Center. This will be so big that not only do they have a show kitchen, but in the evenings they will be serving dinner there. You have dinner and the show of watching the chef prepare your dinner.

Each course will be fresh, prepared just before it is served to you. It will also be farm-to-table fresh, because some of it will be grown right in the Culinary Arts Center.

The complete story appeared in the January 13 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Keep on Counting

Holland America today issued the third video in their “Countdown to Koningsdam” series. This on focuses on the ship’s main theater, the World Stage, and features Bill Price, the line’s Director of Entertainment.

Koningsdam’s theater will be rather unique with a round stage and LED screens that surround the audience 270 degrees.

Koningsdam is almost here. It will enter service in April.

Counting Down to Koningsdam

This is the second video in a series about Holland America Line's MS Koningsdam which is currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera Italy near Venice. Koningsdam will debut in April 2016.

In this installment, Holland America Line’s Vice President Deployment and Tour Marketing Linda Springmann talking about the ship’s inaugural year itineraries. Springmann details Koningsdam’s cruises in the Mediterranean, northern Europe and Caribbean, offering itinerary highlights and fun facts about the ship’s maiden sailing season.

Countdown to Koningsdam

This is the first video in a series about Holland America Line's MS Koningsdam which is currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera Italy near Venice. Koningsdam will debut in April 2016.

In this installment, Hotel Director Stan Kuppens shows off the progress of ship’s atrium and talks about his move to the yard and what’s coming next for his team.

The complete story appeared in the November 18 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Blended, Not Stirred

Imagine sitting down to dinner in the dining room on your cruise and enjoying a bottle of wine created just for you, one that you will find perfect because you created it. That’s one of the features that will be available on Holland America’s Koningsdam when it launches next spring.

The ship will have the first purpose-built wine-blending venue at sea where you can learn to blend from a selection of five barrels of single-vineyard red wine, and you’ll be guided by Koningsdam’s wine expert.

The complete story appeared in the September 28 edition of Cruise News Daily.