Seventh Holland America ship to be named Rotterdam floated out at Fincantieri

Holland America Line’s new flagship, Rotterdam, has floated out of her construction dry dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the seventh ship to carry the name for the 180-year-old cruise line.

The 99,800-gross ton, 2,668-passenger ship left her construction dry dock at the shipyard in Marghera Wednesday and was moved to the outfitting pier with the help of three tug boats.

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Work will now begin on her interiors, including dozens of public rooms, 7 restaurants, 14 bars and cafes and 1,340 cabins ahead of her expected delivery in July, 2021.

Sea trials for the ship, designed by Tihany Design and Yran & Storbraaten, are scheduled for early next year.

While Holland America has not released details on the dining, entertainment and amenities to be found onboard, the involvement of Tihany Design and Yran & Storbraaten suggests she will share close similarities with the first two Pinnacle-class cruise ships.

Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam were launched for Holland America Line in 2016 and 2018 respectively. The Pinnacle-class ships are the largest in the Holland America Line fleet, with the widest array of choices when it comes to dining, entertainment or cabins.

While all Holland America Line ships have one or more of the three elements that make up Music Walk (B.B. King’s Blues Club, Lincoln Center Stage, Billboard Onboard), only Pinnacle-class ships have a fourth venue, the Rolling Stone Rock Room.

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It debuted aboard Nieuw Statendam when she was delivered in November, 2018 and was added to Koningsdam at the same time. Although not confirmed by Holland America, it’s almost certain Rotterdam will feature it as well.

The Pinnacle-class ships also offer BBC Earth concerts, combining a live orchestra with specially produced BBC Earth documentaries, as well as Blend, a wine tasting and blending class created in partnership with Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Rotterdam is the seventh ship in the cruise line’s history to carry the name. She was originally named Ryndam, but Holland America renamed her Rotterdam following the sale of the most recent Rotterdam to Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines earlier this year.

Rotterdam will spend the summer, 2021 cruising Northern Europe and the Baltic on roundtrip cruises from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.