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| The '''Holland America Line''' was founded in 1873 as the ''Dutch-America Steamship Company'' ({{lang-nl| Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij}}), a shipping and passenger line. Because it was headquartered in ] and provided service to the Americas, it became known as ''Holland America Line'' (HAL). Its headquarters are now in ], ].<ref>"." Holland America Line. Retrieved on January 20, 2010.</ref> | The '''Holland America Line''' was founded in 1873 as the ''Dutch-America Steamship Company'' ({{lang-nl| Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij}}), a shipping and passenger line. Because it was headquartered in ] and provided service to the Americas, it became known as ''Holland America Line'' (HAL). Its headquarters are now in ], ].<ref>"." Holland America Line. Retrieved on January 20, 2010.</ref> | ||
| The first ships sailed between ] and ] in 1872. Until scheduled transatlantic passenger transport ended New York (]) remained the main American terminal. Other services were started later that century to ] and ]. A pure cargo service to New York was added in 1899. In the early years of the 20th century other North American ports were added to the service. | The first ships sailed between ] and ] in 1872. Until scheduled transatlantic passenger transport ended, New York (]) remained the main American terminal. Other services were started later that century to ] and ]. A pure cargo service to New York was added in 1899. In the early years of the 20th century other North American ports were added to the service. | ||
| In the first 25 years of its existence the line carried 400,000 people from the old to the new world. | In the first 25 years of its existence the line carried 400,000 people from the old to the new world. | ||
Revision as of 06:56, 4 October 2010
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company |
| Successor | Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie  |
| Headquarters | Seattle, USA |
| Key people | Stein Kruse (President and CEO) Richard D. Meadows (Executive Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Guest Programs) Larry D. Calkins (Senior Vice President, Finance and Information Technology) |
| Products | Cruises |
| Parent | Carnival Corporation |
| Website | www.hollandamerica.com |
The Holland America Line was founded in 1873 as the Dutch-America Steamship Company (Template:Lang-nl), a shipping and passenger line. Because it was headquartered in Rotterdam and provided service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line (HAL). Its headquarters are now in Seattle, Washington.
The first ships sailed between Rotterdam and New York in 1872. Until scheduled transatlantic passenger transport ended, New York (Hoboken) remained the main American terminal. Other services were started later that century to South America and Baltimore. A pure cargo service to New York was added in 1899. In the early years of the 20th century other North American ports were added to the service. In the first 25 years of its existence the line carried 400,000 people from the old to the new world.
Though transportation and shipping were the primary sources of revenue, in 1895 the company offered its first vacation cruise. Its second leisure cruise, from New York to the Holy Land, was first offered in 1910. In 1971, HAL suspended its transatlantic passenger trade and, in 1973, the company sold its cargo shipping division.
In 1989, HAL became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corp., the largest cruise line in the world. Today, the company operates 15 ships to seven continents and carries nearly 700,000 cruise passengers a year.
History
Holland America Line produced some noted ships from the 36,000 gross ton SS Nieuw Amsterdam of 1937, probably the only large passenger liner at the time that was not completed with any expectation of serving for the military, and the SS Rotterdam of 1959, one of the first ships on the North Atlantic to be equipped for two class transatlantic crossing and one class luxury cruising. By the late sixties, the golden era of profitable trans-Atlantic ships was over, and the remaining routes were siphoned off by the airlines. The early seventies saw the end of the trans-Atlantic service, leaving the North Atlantic for Cunard's RMS Queen Elizabeth 2.
In 1971, Holland America abandoned its passenger transportation service and switched to running cruise ships full time. Since then, the company has become known for wide variety of destinations it sails to. After obtaining government approval to visit Antarctica in the 1980s, the line now visits all seven continents. Its MS Prinsendam makes annual "Grand Voyages" that usually last more than 60 days. These explore and circle more exotic destinations such as South America and Africa. Due to the increasing popularity of the exotic and rarely-visited ports of call featured on Grand World Voyages, the MS Amsterdam will offer the Grand World Voyage in addition to the Prinsendam's Grand Voyages in 2007 and 2008. 2008 is also the 50th anniversary of Holland America Line's Grand World Voyage and will feature a true circumnavigation of the globe. In 2009, the sister-ship to the ms Amsterdam, MS Rotterdam will complete the Grand World Voyage.
Current
As of July 2008, the line operates fifteen ships, ranging from the smaller and older S Class vessels; the mid range R Class; the Vista class; the newest and largest Signature class and the small 793-passenger Prinsendam (originally the Royal Viking Sun, then Seabourn Sun until HAL's purchase of the vessel in 2002). All HAL ships have a dark blue hull with white superstructure, with the line's logo featured prominently on the functional smoke stacks.
In addition to its fleet of cruise ships, Holland America also owns the Westmark hotel chain which operates in Alaska and the Yukon, and Worldwide Shore Services, which provides warehouse and logistical support for the company. HAL shares its headquarters in Seattle's Uptown Queen Anne, Seattle, Washington district with the above mentioned subsidiaries. Finally, HAL owns "Half Moon Cay" (its own private island in the Caribbean, officially known as Little San Salvador Island); nearly all of the line's cruises through the region spend at least a day there.
On April 3, 2008 Micky Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, stated that due to the low value of the US dollar, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, the company would not be ordering any new ships for their US based brands (Holland America, Carnival Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises) until the economic situation improves.
Fleet
Statendam class (S class)
- MS Statendam, 1993—Signature of Excellence (SOE) upgrades occurred in May 2005
- MS Maasdam, 1993—SOE upgrades occurred in April 2006
- MS Ryndam, 1994—SOE upgrades occurred in October 2004
- MS Veendam, 1996—SOE upgrades occurred in January 2006
Rotterdam class (R class)
- MS Rotterdam, 1997—SOE upgrades occurred in April 2005
- MS Volendam, 1999—SOE upgrades occurred in December 2005
- MS Zaandam, 2000—SOE upgrades occurred in January 2005
- MS Amsterdam, 2000—SOE upgrades occurred in October 2005
- Note: Volendam and Zaandam have different funnels and are substantially different in design from the Rotterdam and the Amsterdam.
Vista class
- MS Zuiderdam, 2002—SOE upgrades occurred in December 2005; aft expansion took place in April 2008.
- MS Oosterdam, 2003—SOE upgrades occurred in October 2006; aft expansion will take place in 2009.
- MS Westerdam, 2004—SOE upgrades occurred in April 2005; aft expansion took place in May 2007.
- MS Noordam, 2006—Built with SOE standards already in place; aft expansion to earlier Vista-class ships were designed to mimic the Noordam.
In 2006, the Vista class cruise ships were awarded the 2006 Green Planet Award for outstanding environmental standards by Kuoni Switzerland.
Signature class
- MS Eurodam—Entered service on July 5, 2008
- MS Nieuw Amsterdam—Entered service on July 4th, 2010
"The Elegant Explorer"
- MS Prinsendam, 1988—Obtained by Holland America Line in 2002; SOE upgrades occurred in January 2005
Former fleet
- Noordam, 1984—Sold to Thomson Cruises in 2005.
- Nieuw Amsterdam, 1984—Sold to American Classic Voyages in 2000, after their bankruptcy sold to her current owner, Thomson Cruises.
- SS Rotterdam, 1958—Sold to Premier Cruise Lines in 1997, retired in retired in 2000 and as of 2010 now a hotel and museum.
- MS Westerdam, 1986—Transferred to Costa Cruises in 2002 and re-named Costa Europa, April 2010: she is now being charted to Thomson Cruises for 10 years and is known as the Thomson Dream.
- SS Veendam (3), 1972–74, 1975–76, 1978–84—She was last in service for Commodore Cruise Line as the Enchanted Isle
- SS Volendam (2), 1972–76, 1978–84—Sister to SS Veendam (3); Last known as the Universe Explorer as the World Explorer Lines
- SS Statendam (4) 1956–1982—She was last in service for Regent Star as the Regency but is now inactive service after Regent Star went bankrupt.
- SS Maasdam (4) (1952–1968)—Fate unknown
- SS Ryndam (2) (1951–1973)—Sank 2003 on way to breakers
- SS Westerdam (1945–1965)—Combination first class passenger/cargo vessel; scrapped Spain 1965
- Nieuw Amsterdam, 1937—Scrapped 1974.
- SS Rotterdam, 1908—Scrapped 1940.
- SS Rotterdam, 1886—Fate Unknown.
- SS Rotterdam, 1872—Wrecked September 26, 1883.
See also
References
- "Corporate headquarters." Holland America Line. Retrieved on January 20, 2010.
- "No newbuildings for Carnival's US brands at current dollar / euro rate - Arison". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- "Holland America Line Completes Signature of Excellence Enhancements."". press release. thefreelibrary.com. 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- Sailing the Sea's of Green
- http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Argentina_1958.html#anchor82535
- http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Brazil_1958.html#anchor484194
- http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/HAL-Statendam1956.html
- http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/HollandAmericaLinePCs2.html
- http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/HollandAmericaLinePCs2.html
External links
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| North America & Australia (NAA) |
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