Carnival Corporation's subsidiary company HAL-Holland America Line announced that its newbuild ms Nieuw Ryndam will be renamed to ms Rotterdam (Nieuw Rotterdam).
The new Rotterdam ship will be HAL's flagship and the 7th vessel named "Rotterdam". The liner is scheduled for delivery on July 30, 2021, which is a delay from the original delivery date in May 2021 due to the global pandemic. Earlier in July, Holland America sold 4 cruise ships - Amsterdam, Maasdam, Rotterdam and Veendam.
The vessels were sold in pairs. Norwegian company Bonheur bought the R-Class ms Amsterdam and ms Rotterdam that will be transferred during the next few months.
The new Rotterdam will be delivered from Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Italy.
The liner will offer roundtrips from Port Amsterdam to popular Baltic Sea (Northern Europe) port destinations.
According to Holland America Line president, Gus Antorcha, the first ship for HAL had been the original Rotterdam. He added the company had been headquartered in the city of Rotterdam for many years, and the name had been a hallmark throughout their history since 1872. So clearly, the name was "powerful and symbolic."
“With the current Rotterdam leaving the company, we knew we had a unique opportunity to embrace the name as our new flagship and carry on the tradition of having a Rotterdam in our fleet. Seven is a lucky number, and we know she is going to bring a lot of joy to our guests as she travels across the globe.”