Holland America Group toasts milestones at Sydney event

Fittingly, the table was decorated with vases of tulips.

Archbold said Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, daughter of Queen Juliana and aunt to the reigning monarch, had upheld the tradition of HAL ships being named by members of the Dutch royal house when she was godmother to Rotterdam last month.

As reported here, Rotterdam was delivered in 2021 but, due to the pandemic, the naming ceremony was postponed until May 30.

Rotterdam I was the first ship in the fleet of the company that was founded in Rotterdam in 1873 and is now a subsidiary of Carnival Corp. & plc.

The new flagship Rotterdam is the seventh to carry the name.

Alaska anniversary and HAL’s 150th

Archbold, who has been with Holland America for 11 years, also told the journalists the company is celebrating 75 years of cruising in Alaska this year.

He said there will be many more celebrations next year for the company’s 150th anniversary. 

Meantime, he said, the 1,964-passenger Westerdam and the 1,924-passenger Noordam will visit Australia later this year.

Westerdam arrives on November 8 and departs January 3, 2023, and Noordam arrives November 11 and leaves April 8, 2023, during which time she will circumnavigate Australia and New Zealand.