Veendam and Maasdam sold

[rkacruiser]

5 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

There will most definitely be another Rotterdam, the seventh, in the future fleet. It actually would not surprise me if they were to rename Ryndam IV, the one being built at Fincantieri, Rotterdam.

 

Too late in the construction and design I suppose, of Ryndam IV to have the twin funnels of historical HAL significance to be incorporated into this new ship.  Whenever she sails and whatever her name may be.

[BarbarianPaul]

Our Canada/Greenland cruise on the Rotterdam next August is kaput, alas. But I think the cruise line right now has more serious issues about service, quality, and identity. Our most recent cruise pre pandemic on the Westerdam was substandard on almost all fronts...bad food, no entertainment, nothing happening onboard, rundown, outdated cabins, poor service. We sailed pretty much for the itineraries, and tolerated pretty much everything else.
So I’m not waxing nostalgic about anything HAL related. I think the line needs fresh blood and reinvention. Hoping the new guy has some vision and isn’t a corporate bean counter.

[Copper10-8]

9 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Too late in the construction and design I suppose, of Ryndam IV to have the twin funnels of historical HAL significance to be incorporated into this new ship.  Whenever she sails and whatever her name may be.

 

Yeah, they are not going to change anything like that at this time which is OK

 

Rotterdam I, II and III didn't have twin funnels either

 

 

 

 

[rkacruiser]

13 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

Yeah, they are not going to change anything like that at this time which is OK

 

Rotterdam I, II and III didn't have twin funnels either

 

 

The design of Rotterdam V, internally and externally, marked a significant change in the construction of passenger ships. A ship that was perfectly suited for a two class trans-Atlantic crossing spent most of her career has a superior cruise ship.  I think some ship historians have named her a "Ship of State".  

 

No disagreement that the time has passed for a redesign.  

 

For me, it is just one more dagger in the history of my collective memories.  

[Copper10-8]

1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

 

 

The design of Rotterdam V, internally and externally, marked a significant change in the construction of passenger ships. A ship that was perfectly suited for a two class trans-Atlantic crossing spent most of her career has a superior cruise ship.  I think some ship historians have named her a "Ship of State".  

 

No disagreement that the time has passed for a redesign.  

 

For me, it is just one more dagger in the history of my collective memories.  

 

The "ship of state" was the nickname, along with "the darling of the Dutch," of the ss Nieuw Amsterdam of 1937 but yes, Rotterdam V was a classic lady, one of the last true ocean liners, Good thing is you can still visit her in the Waalhaven part of Rotterdam

 

 

 

 

[Cruising-along]

Bittersweet day...I have wonderful memories of all these ships, but especially the Amsterdam (our first cruise) and the Rotterdam (first European cruise, took us to Egypt, and the VOV in 2018.  I didn't have any future cruises booked on any of these, so am fortunate not to have (yet more) cancellations.  I'll miss these ships and feel for those of you who are having even more disappointment because of cancellations.

[StormyWildcat]

Seven years ago a trip on the Maasdam changed my life forever. I just finished almost five years of maritime officer training. We were supposed to take two trips on the Maasdam to celebrate my graduation, but they were cancelled due to the pandemic. I was looking forward to starting work once cruises started back up and hoped I would fulfill my dream of being a bridge officer on the Maasdam. That dream has shattered, along with a piece of my heart. Since I cannot have her, I wish I could at least touch her beautiful bell one more time. I know I will still go on to be a bridge officer somewhere but that piece of my heart that belonged to Maasdam will never be the same.

[George C]

We sailed both Maasdam and Veendam , about 8 years ago , had pinnacle suite to Bermuda on veendam loved that it docked in Hamilton, hardly any suite perks compared to other lines.

[Copper10-8]

35 minutes ago, StormyWildcat said:

Seven years ago a trip on the Maasdam changed my life forever. I just finished almost five years of maritime officer training. We were supposed to take two trips on the Maasdam to celebrate my graduation, but they were cancelled due to the pandemic. I was looking forward to starting work once cruises started back up and hoped I would fulfill my dream of being a bridge officer on the Maasdam. That dream has shattered, along with a piece of my heart. Since I cannot have her, I wish I could at least touch her beautiful bell one more time. I know I will still go on to be a bridge officer somewhere but that piece of my heart that belonged to Maasdam will never be the same.

 

Congrats on successfully finishing your maritime officer training and good luck on your first contract at sea, hopefully in the near future

[StormyWildcat]

44 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Congrats on successfully finishing your maritime officer training and good luck on your first contract at sea, hopefully in the near future

Thank you! The entire maritime industry is in chaos right now but I know I will get out there one day. Hope you are staying well.

[CabinBoy2020]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

The "ship of state" was the nickname, along with "the darling of the Dutch," of the ss Nieuw Amsterdam of 1937 but yes, Rotterdam V was a classic lady, one of the last true ocean liners, Good thing is you can still visit her in the Waalhaven part of Rotterdam

 

 

 

You mention the 1937 Nieuw Amsterdam.  I sailed NY to Southhampton and back again on the ship in 1968 or 1969 (memory is a bit faulty).  I was a young teenager at the time and don't remember much, but I attribute those voyages to my lifelong love affair with ships and being on the open seas.  I hope HAL finds a way to retain some of the attributes we all love.  

[Copper10-8]

33 minutes ago, CabinBoy2020 said:

 

You mention the 1937 Nieuw Amsterdam.  I sailed NY to Southhampton and back again on the ship in 1968 or 1969 (memory is a bit faulty).  I was a young teenager at the time and don't remember much, but I attribute those voyages to my lifelong love affair with ships and being on the open seas.  I hope HAL finds a way to retain some of the attributes we all love.  

a 1963 

 

Awesome! I hope the HAL Mariner Society gave you credit for those two journeys on the Darling of the Dutch.  Here she is (left) in a 1963 dry-dock in Rotterdam with Rotterdam V 

 

[Sue from Canada]

So, are there any S & R ships not sold?  

[CabinBoy2020]

5 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

a 1963 

 

Awesome! I hope the HAL Mariner Society gave you credit for those two journeys on the Darling of the Dutch.  Here she is (left) in a 1963 dry-dock in Rotterdam with Rotterdam V 

 

 

What a beautiful ship.  Thanks!  I think she served in WWII?  They kept ships a looong time in those days!  I never thought of Mariner Society credit - LOL.  

[Copper10-8]

3 minutes ago, Sue from Canada said:

So, are there any S & R ships not sold?  

 

Zaandam & Volendam with Zaanie taking over the 2022 Grand World Voyage from Amsterdam (no 2021 GWV)

[Copper10-8]

4 minutes ago, CabinBoy2020 said:

 

What a beautiful ship.  Thanks!  I think she served in WWII?  They kept ships a looong time in those days!  I never thought of Mariner Society credit - LOL.  

 

From Wiki

 

The Netherlands’ “ship of peace” was not to enjoy the praise lavished on her for long. After only seventeen voyages, Nieuw Amsterdam was laid up at Hoboken, New Jersey in 1939 after the German Invasion of Poland. She would be idle for only a year, however, and was requisitioned by the British Ministry of Transport after the Netherlands fell to Hitler's armies. She would spend the remainder of the war years as a transport for troops and prisoners of war, despite the fact she had been constructed without the consideration of ever being used in a military capacity.

 

Nieuw Amsterdam, with a nominal troop capacity of 6,800 and speed of over 20 knots, was among the British-controlled "monsters" – high-capacity, high-speed troop ships capable of sailing unescorted due to their speed, and thus critical to the build up in Britain for the invasion of the Continent.

 

During the course of the conflict she transported over 350,000 troops and steamed around 530,452 nautical miles before being returned to the Holland America Line in 1946. Directly after the war, she spent time repatriating Dutch citizens from the then-Dutch East Indies.

[Sue from Canada]

7 hours ago, YXU AC*SE said:

Just crossed my Twitter feed:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/news/four-ships-to-leave-the-holland-america-line-fleet-in-2020/

 

Scott.

I look at the photos of these four ships and just want to cry.  I've sailed on all four numerous times and have so many good memories.

[Sue from Canada]

6 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

This is the second time I've tried to get to Greenland and HAL's sale of ships has impacted it.  Sigh.

 

Dave, I know it's upsetting but you can speak with your PCC next week to get the other $800 sorted out.  I would think that it would go back to your Mariner account to be applied to another cruise.  I hope that you and your DW can find an alternate cruise or other plan for that very significant milestone.

AQ - I read on another roll call that the Caribbean Princess is going to sail from NY - Greenland next Aug. 16, 2021.  Check it out.  Maybe we'll be able to see each other again.

[Sue from Canada]

5 hours ago, Lady Chew said:

This is really no surprise.  Orlando Ashford & the senior management team were on the 2019 world cruise, had a presentation & Q&A session with passengers.  The theater was completely full.  It was very clear that the small ships were not and could not be profitable at the HAL price point.  Ashford stated that they could not create a business plan for a new 1500 passenger ship and make it work.  This statement basically said that any new ships would be in the 2500 passenger and greater class.  The key to this is, they were trying to build the business plan around the HAL price point.

 

The implication was that they could not put new capital into these old ships and operate them at a profit.

The current crisis has made things worse.  These ships will certainly not be worth more when this is over than they are now.  We are wondering if the new president of HAL is tasked with rebranding the line or overseeing a merger with the Princess brand.  

Then why is HAL keeping the Volendam and Zaandam?

[Sir PMP]

3 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

The "ship of state" was the nickname, along with "the darling of the Dutch," of the ss Nieuw Amsterdam of 1937 but yes, Rotterdam V was a classic lady, one of the last true ocean liners, Good thing is you can still visit her in the Waalhaven part of Rotterdam

 

 

 

 

I did and she's still a grand dame with a fabulous Lido restaurant..

[Sue from Canada]

24 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Zaandam & Volendam with Zaanie taking over the 2022 Grand World Voyage from Amsterdam (no 2021 GWV)

That's good news but I can't afford a GWV at solo prices.  Do you think all HAL Mariners could buy our own ship and call it the Marinerdam😅

[Copper10-8]

1 minute ago, Sue from Canada said:

That's good news but I can't afford a GWV at solo prices.  Do you think all HAL Mariners could buy our own ship and call it the Marinerdam😅

 

Go for it Ma'am! 😉

[jakkojakko]

Strange. I understand the four ships are sold and future itineries canceled. Nevertheless I just received an email from HAL with promotions and offers for future cruising and curiously at least Veendam and Rotterdam cruises are still listed for 2021!

[ski ww]

Just got the word from our TA that the Veendam was sold so our cruise in Jul was cancelled. No word on if another ship will do that cruise, although she did say that the Ryndam is doing some of the Veendam's itineraries. Was lucky enough that we did an Amazon cruise on the Maasdam. It was not a surprise I think the writing was on the wall for these two ships.  

[rotjeknor]

6 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

a 1963 

 

Awesome! I hope the HAL Mariner Society gave you credit for those two journeys on the Darling of the Dutch.  Here she is (left) in a 1963 dry-dock in Rotterdam with Rotterdam V 

 

I see her everyday... painting in my living room 🙂