Italy: Coin ceremony held for Holland America Line’s Rotterdam

On 1 October, Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri hosted a coin ceremony for Rotterdam, the third Pinnacle-class cruise ship being built for Carnival Corporation’s Holland America Line, at the Marghera shipyard in Venice.

The fitting-out phase can now begin, ending in summer 2021 with the handing over of the ship.

The event consisted of welding a silver dollar on the last deck of the ship. The ship’s “madrina” was Mai Elmar, executive director of Cruise Port Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The coin ceremony was held in anticipation of Rotterdam’s float-out next week. On 7 October, Rotterdam’s drydock will be filled with water and the ship will be floated out to begin the next stage of construction at an outfitting pier. Rotterdam is scheduled to be delivered on 30 July 2021.

The 99,500 GT unit is a sister ship of Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, the Pinnacle-class ships delivered respectively in March 2016 and 2018 from the same shipyard. It was originally named Ryndam but the cruise line decided to change the name of the vessel.

What is more, Rotterdam is the seventh ship to bear the name for Holland America Line and the 17th ship constructed for the brand by Fincantieri.

Once completed, the newbuilding will have a length of almost 300 meters long and accommodation for 2,668 passengers onboard.

According to Fincantieri, the ship’s technology is aimed at optimizing energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impact and it responds to the most demanding and current safety regulations.

Following Rotterdam’s maiden voyage departing 1 August 2021, the ship will spend its inaugural summer season in northern Europe, Holland America Line said.