Worth Waiting For

Holland America's new Rotterdam was named by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands on Sunday (May 30, 2022). 

The complete story appeared in the May 31 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

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

Rotterdam Rides Again

The seventh Holland America ship to bear the Rotterdam name (named in honor of the line's very first ship) was delivered today by Fincantieri at their Marghera shipyard. 

   The 99,800-ton ship is the third Pinnacle-class ship delivered, and the 17th Fincantieri has constructed for Holland America Line. 

The ship will enter service with a transatlantic crossing from Amsterdam to Ft. Lauderdale on October 20, 2021. 

The complete story appeared in the July 30 edition of Cruise News Daily. 

Sea Trial Video:
This is raw video from the sea trials earlier this month. It's b-roll that's meant to be cut up and used in other productions and in news stories, so there is no sound, but it does give you ariel views and a look at construction of the ship from every angle. 

Please note: Fincantieri knows how to build wonderful ships, but from the titles on each section of the video, they don't seem to understand the importance of getting the letters in the right order in English. Yes, we know it's "sea trials." Those i's and a's can be tricky. Maybe that's why they call these "prove a mare."

Interior Walk-Through Video:
This is b-roll, showing many of the public areas of the ship just before delivery to Holland America, so there is no sound.

Construction video:
Again, this is b-roll, so again, there is no sound: Note that in the early scenes of putting the bow in place, it has the ship's original name, Ryndam, on it before it was redesignated as Rotterdam. 

Rotterdam completes sea trials

Holland America's new Rotterdam is set for delivery on July 30 (2021). This B-roll was shot during the second set of sea trials in the Adriatic which were completed on May 6. At the completion of the sea trials, Rotterdam returned to Fincantieri's Marghera yard near Venice for interior outfitting. There is no sound in the B-roll and it is just raw drone footage, but it gives you a good look at the ship from all angles. If you get bored, just skip ahead - don't leave it - because some of the more interesting angles come later in the video.  

Rotterdam Passing Milestones

Holland America's new Rotterdam has marked a couple of important events in its construction at Fincantieri's Marghera yard. The first was the flooding of the dry dock last week which was held in conjunction with the coin ceremony where two ceremonial coins were welded to the ship's hull on an outside deck. This week, the ship was towed to the finishing dock where interior construction will continue, and where Rotterdam VII will remain until it goes on sea trials early next year. 

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

That New Ship Smell

The Port of Rotterdam is proudly pointing out that this spring they will have three giant newbuilds call at the port fresh from the yard. In April, the port will play host to Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. In May, her big sister, Harmony of the Seas, visits. Also in May, AIDA’s long-delayed megaliner, AIDAprima will homeport at Rotterdam for a series of cruises.