Holland America Line has announced that Princess Margriet will be the godmother of Rotterdam, which will be named in its namesake city next year. The 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 through the years, including Princess Margriet who named Prinsendam (1972), Nieuw Amsterdam III (1983), Rotterdam VI (1997) and Oosterdam (2003).
Additional members of the Dutch Royal Family who are godmothers include Queen Máxima, who named Koningsdam in 2016 and Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010. Then-Queen Beatrix served as Eurodam’s godmother in 2008. Rotterdam V was launched in 1958 by Queen Juliana. Then-Princess Beatrix named Statendam IV in 1957 and Prinsess Margriet in 1960. Nieuw Amsterdam II was launched by Queen Wilhelmina in 1937.
Rotterdam’s maiden cruise departs October 20, 2021, from Amsterdam, Netherlands, and embarks on a 14-day transatlantic journey to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During its inaugural Caribbean season from November to April, Rotterdam will sail a variety of five- to 11-day itineraries that span the southern, western, eastern and tropical regions, all roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. In mid-April, the ship will make a 14-day Atlantic Ocean crossing back to Europe to spend the summer in Norway, the Baltic, British Isles and Iceland, all sailing roundtrip from Amsterdam.
Rotterdam was delivered by the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy on July 30, 2021. The date for naming the ship in Rotterdam will be announced in the coming months.
For more information about Holland America Line, visit www.hollandamerica.com.
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