Holland America Line Cruises

The Holland America Line was founded in 1873 as the Dutch-America Steamship Company a shipping and passenger line. Because it was headquartered in Rotterdam and provided service to the Americas, it became known as Holland America Line. Her headquarters are in Seattle's Uptown Queen Anne district in the U.S.

For over 130 years, Holland America Line has travelled to the most magnificent destinations around the world with a five-star fleet of 14 magnificent ships to more than 280 ports in all seven continents.

In 1989, The Holland America Line became a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise line in the world. Holland America Line cruises carry nearly 700,000 passengers per year.

Holland America Line 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.

Fleet

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

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 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 on other Vista class ships is 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.

MS Prinsendam 1988 - Obtained by Holland America Line in 2002 - SOE Upgrades occurred in January 2005

	MS Amsterdam 2000 - SOE Upgrades occurred in October 2005 MS Amsterdam is HAL's Pacific Flagship and is the sister ship to MS Rotterdam as with the Rotterdam the ship features a multi-million pound art collection which includes a three story tall Astrolabe in the main atrium and a baseball signed by Joe Di Maggio. *Special Feature: The Crow's Nest - offers sweeping 270° views during the day and turns into a trendy nightclub in the evening. Note: Volendam and Zaandam have different funnels and are substantially different in design from the Rotterdam and the Amsterdam.
	MS Nieuw Currently under construction
	The Eurodam The Eurodam entered service on July 5, 2008 on her maiden voyage from Copenhagen. The Eurodam is the 80th ship to enter Holland America's service and, at 86,700 tons and carrying 2,104 passengers, she is the largest Holland America ship to date.

New features on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam include a Pan-Asian restaurant, an African-theme to the Explorer's Lounge, an Italian specialty restaurant and a redesigned atrium and show lounge. Ten cabins have floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall windows. Eighty-six percent of the cabins are on the outside, and 67% have balconies.