Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands recently served as godmother and officially named the Rotterdam, a Holland America Pinnacle Class ship that carries 2,668 guests. Princess Margriet led the on-ship ceremony that was attended by dignitaries including Carnival Corporation President and CEO Arnold Donald, Holland America Group President Jan Swartz, Rotterdam Captain Werner Timmers, and Lord Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb.
“Our heritage is rooted here in the Netherlands, and we are deeply honored to have Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet as godmother of her fifth Holland America Line ship,” said Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line. “When Rotterdam was delivered in 2021 we postponed its naming ceremony so we could hold it in Rotterdam, because there’s no better place to name a ship than in the city it was named after. After a challenging couple of years, we are excited to celebrate this memorable moment in our company’s history.”
Holland America Line’s connection to The House of Orange goes back nearly a century to Prince Hendrik launching Statendam III in 1929. Since then, members of the Dutch Royal Family have launched 11 more Holland America Line vessels throughout the years.
The first Rotterdam — the first Holland America Line ship — embarked on her maiden voyage from Rotterdam to New York, and 150 years latter, on Oct. 15, 2022, Rotterdam VII will recreate that historic 150th anniversary crossing. The Rotterdam will homeport out of Amsterdam and spend seven- and 14-day Norway cruises, as well as explorations to Scandinavia, Iceland and the Northern Isles. It will spend the fall and winter season in the Caribbean sailing tropical itineraries roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.
hollandamerica.com
