Holland America Line
Holland America Line, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships.
Founded in 1873 as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company, the company ran regular trans-Atlantic service between the Netherlands and the United States, and later to the Dutch East Indies as well. It was acquired by Carnival Corporation in 1989.
Holland America Line produced some noted ships from the 36,000 gross ton Nieuw Amsterdam of 1938, probably the only large passenger liner at the time that was not completed with any expectation of serving for the military, and the beautiful 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 transatlantic ships was over, and the remaining routes were siphoned off by the airliner. The early seventies saw the end of the transatlantic service, leaving the North Atlantic for Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2.
In 1971, HAL abandoned its passenger service and switched to running cruise ships full time. It has since earned a reputation among cruise lines for classic elegance; the decor of its ships recall the great age of Dutch exploration, and include numerous pieces of original artwork and artifacts. HAL is also known for the wide variety of destinations it sails to, and after obtaining government approval to visit Antarctica in the 1980s, the line now visits all seven continents; its ms Prinsendam also makes an annual "Grand World Voyage" that usually last more than 150 days.
As of 2005, the line operates thirteen ships. All have a dark blue hull with white superstructure, and have names ending in "dam", some of which have been used for different ships over the years.
In addition to its fleet of cruise ships, Holland America also owns the Westmark hotel chain which operates in Alaska and the Yukon, the bus companies Gray Line of Seattle and Gray Line of Alaska, and Worldwide Shore Services, which provides warehouse and logistical support for the company. It also owns and operates the high-end Windstar Cruises, with which HAL shares its headquarters in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne district. 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.
Ships in service:
- ms Amsterdam
- ms Maasdam
- ms Noordam
- ms Oosterdam
- ms Prinsendam
- ms Rotterdam
- ms Ryndam
- ms Statendam
- ms Veendam
- ms Volendam
- ms Westerdam
- ms Zaandam
- ms Zuiderdam
External links
- Holland America official websitenl:Holland-Amerika Lijn