Dutch royalty names seventh Rotterdam

The naming ceremony for Rotterdam VII, the flagship boat belonging to the Holland America Line (HAL), was carried out by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands in keeping with a tradition that started in the 1920s.

Her Royal Highness pulled a cord to ring a bell and then released a Champagne bottle to smash against the ship’s hull.

Rotterdam VII was actually delivered in 2021, but the naming ceremony was delayed so that it could be held in Rotterdam itself – “because there’s no better place to name a ship than in the city it was named after”, said Holland America Line President Gus Antorcha.

“Our heritage is rooted here in the Netherlands, and we are deeply honoured to have Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet as godmother of her fifth Holland America Line ship.”

As might be gleaned from her name, Rotterdam VII is the seventh vessel to carry the name for Holland America Line. She has capacity for 2,668 passengers.

After a seven-day cruise to celebrate the naming, the vessel will spend the summer season carrying out one and two-week cruises around Norway, Scandinavia and Iceland.

On 15 October 2022, Rotterdam VII will embark for New York from Rotterdam exactly 150 years ago to the day that the first HAL ship, Rotterdam I, embarked on the same voyage.