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 (HAL).
Within 25 years, HAL owned a
fleet of six cargo and
passenger ships, and
operated between the
Netherlands and the Dutch
East Indies via the newly
constructed Suez Canal. The
line was a principal carrier
of immigrants from Europe to
the United States until well
after the turn of the
century, carrying 850,000 to
new lives in 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 premium cruise leader
operates 14 ships to seven
continents and carries
nearly 700,000 cruise
passengers a year.
