Holland America Line HAL Page

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BEYONDSHIPS PROFILES

A MSTERDAM
EURODAM
MAASDAM
NIEUW AMSTERDAM
NOORDAM
PRINSENDAM
ROTTERDAM
STATENDAM
VEENDAM
WESTERDAM
ZUIDERDAM

HALF MOON CAY

BEYONDSHIPS
ARTICLES and PHOTO
ESSAYS
(If a ship has a profile section, articles
specific to that ship can be found on that
ship's profile page).

HOLLAND AMERICA LINE
PAGE

ADDRESS:
300 Elliott Ave. West
Seattle, WA 98119

TELEPHONE:
1-877-932-4259

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Mariner Society

         Holland America Line ("HAL") is a premium
line operating 15 ships, including the new Nieuw
Amsterdam. Although now headquartered in
Seattle, Washington, the line maintains much of its
Dutch flavor.   It has been a subsidiary of Carnival
Corporation since 1988.
  HAL began operations in 1873 offering
transatlantic service between Rotterdam in the
Netherlands and Hoboken, New Jersey (part of
New York harbor). It developed into a major line
providing passenger service, cargo transport and
cruises and operated some legendary ocean liners
including the art deco-masterpiece Nieuw
Amsterdam of 1938. With the advent of
commercial jet travel, HAL shifted its focus
increasingly to cruising. Its Rotterdam of 1959 was
a revolutionary design that allowed the ship to shift
easily from the transatlantic service to cruising,
retiring in 1997. (The ship has been converted to a
museum in its homeport).
   Today, Holland America ships operate primarily
in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Europe and
Alaska, although the line does do a significant
number of longer cruises including       world
cruises.
  The ships vary in size from the small 37,983 g.r.t
Prinsendam to its newest and largest ship, the
86,000 g.r.t. Eurodam due to go into service in July
2008. In between are three classes of ships: Four
55,000 g.r.t S class ships; four 60,000 g.r.t. R class
ships, and four 82,000 g.r.t Vista class ships.
  The interiors of these ships are done in
contemporary good taste with low lighting, muted
colors, and good quality materials. They have
excellent art collections and are adorned with
displays of fresh flowers. There is nothing flashy
or brash about these ships rather they are
sophisticated and elegant.
The typical passenger is also sophisticated and is
well-educated. He or she appreciated the line's
formality and respect for tradition.

Amsterdam

Prinsendam

Veendam

Noordam

HOLLAND
AMERICA
LINE