Holland America Takes Delivery of Newest Ship Rotterdam

Holland America Line on Friday officially took delivery of its newest ship, Rotterdam, during a ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy.

Holland America’s executive team, including Jan Swartz, the president of HAL Group, and Gus Antorcha, the president of the Holland America Line, were on hand in Marghera to celebrate the occasion.

“Rotterdam looks stunning and will certainly live up to bearing such an iconic name as the new flagship of our fleet, carrying on a tradition of excellence that our guests have loved for nearly 150 years,” said Antorcha.

“Thank you to our partners at Fincantieri and our own team members who worked tirelessly to deliver the ship on schedule during what has been the most challenging of times, and also deliver a ship that looks beautiful, is immaculately finished and will be an incredible addition to our brand. We cannot wait to welcome guests onboard later this fall.”

The ship is Holland America’s 11^th in its fleet, the 7^th to bear the Rotterdam name, and the third in Holland’s Pinnacle Class series. Originally, the ship was set to come into service under the name Ryndam, but Holland America last summer announced that it would be called Rotterdam instead.

Rotterdam is a historic moniker for Holland America—the first ship in the line’s history was called Rotterdam and Holland America has also spent a number of years headquartered in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

The ship, which will sail with 2,668 guests, will feature a lot of the same features of its sister ships including the World Stage, Rudi’s Sel de Mer, Grand Dutch Café, Lincoln Center Stage, B.B. King’s Blues Club, and more.

The ship will officially launch with a transatlantic crossing on Oct. 20, 2021, from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where it will then begin its maiden season in the Caribbean.