After completing her first transatlantic voyage on November 3, Holland America Line’s newest cruise ship is now sailing the Bahamas. Rotterdam set sail from her homeport of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on November 5.
The ship will be sailing on a wide variety of Caribbean Cruises until May of next year, ranging in length from five days to 21 days.
Rotterdam sails on its Inaugural Caribbean Cruise
After sailing on her inaugural voyage from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on October 20, Rotterdam arrived in her homeport of Fort Lauderdale on November 3.
During her transatlantic voyage, the vessel visited several ports in France, Portugal, and the UK. After a day to get ready for the different procedures in the United States, she sailed for Bimini on November 5.
Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line: “We have been awaiting our return to the Caribbean for a long time, and having Rotterdam and our other ships restart operations out of Fort Lauderdale is an incredible moment for our company. Rotterdam’s maiden voyage from Europe was a huge success and we’re getting a lot of positive feedback from guests about the ship.”
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Guests were welcomed by Gus Antorcha during boarding, while a fanfare celebrated the Seattle-based cruise line’s newest ship departure from the docks. After her call in Bimini, the ship will spend a full two days in the company’s private island of Half Moon Cay before returning to Fort Lauderdale.
Rotterdam Will Sail The Caribbean Until May 2022
After Rotterdam concludes her present voyage to the Bahamas, she will remain in the Caribbean until next year. Her first full Caribbean cruise will be an exploration of the region.
Departing from Fort Lauderdale, she will set a course to St Maarten Island in the Dutch Antilles, followed by calls to St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and concluding the cruise with a call to Half Moon Cay.
Each cruise, the 99,800 gross ton ship sails in the area, includes a call to the prize-winning private destination. This quaint sanctuary features white-sand beaches, two-story villas, and private cabanas. At the same time, guests will also be able to enjoy dining venues like Lobster Shack, a children’s waterpark, and a variety of fun-filled tours.
Cruises onboard the 2,668-passenger ship range from six to eleven days, which guests can combine to back-to-back cruises, which will extend the voyage duration to a maximum of 21 days sailing to all corners of the Caribbean.
Rotterdam was built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and handed over to Holland America Line in July 2021. She is the third Pinnacle-class cruise ship. The cruise line recently announced that Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands would be the godmother. The naming ceremony will take place in Spring 2022.
Despite a somewhat slow start to its resumption of operations, the cruise line is now speeding up its service return. This month, Rotterdam will be joined by Nieuw Statendam and Eurodam in the Caribbean, while Nieuw Amsterdam started sailing the Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale on October 23.
