Tag: Milestones

Below are photos of Nieuw Amsterdam’s Azipod slip-rings taken today.

Jeffrey Matthew Cohen, Prinsendam’s crew purser, sent in these photos and note. When the Prinsendam called in Mgarr, Gozo, Malta, on Nov. 5, 2009, it was not only the Prinsendam’s first time stopping in this port of call, but it marked only the second time that this small island — part of the Maltese archipelago…   read more of “Prinsendam’s…”

The float-out ceremony for Nieuw Amsterdam was held Friday, Oct. 30, at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard. The float out is considered a significant milestone in the construction of a new ship, and is accompanied by several traditional ceremonies, including placing coins under the mast and a champagne bottle breaking. Presiding over the ceremonies is the madrina,…   read more of “Nieuw Amsterdam Was…”

The countdown for the coin ceremony and launch of the Nieuw Amsterdam has started. Friday at 3 p.m. Venice time the water will flow into the dock. The day after, October 31, the Nieuw Amsterdam will be towed out of the dock to the outfitting quay. Please note that the string of marine signal flags…   read more of “Friday is Nieuw…”

Below are two photos of the plaque ceremony that took place on October 9th when the Statendam made her inaugural call at Corinto, Nicaragua. Captain Harm-Jan Arnold and Hotel Manager Theo Haanen presented a plaque and ship model on behalf of the ms Statendam, while local Corinto officials presented a plaque to the Captain. Christina…   read more of “Inaugural Call at…”

Prinsendam made a maiden call at Batumi, Georgia, this week, and the call was made even more special by a visit by Georgia’s First Lady Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs. Cruise Director Thomas Faulkner sent us an account of the day’s events: Holland America Line’s ms Prinsendam’s call to Batumi, Georgia, included many firsts. As a maiden…   read more of “The First Lady of…”

Nieuw Amsterdam’s pods are in place! The Azipods are first positioned, then lifted by hydraulic jacks and bolted to the ship from the inside. Soon the propellers will be hoisted and installed. As you can see, the hoists already are in place to lift the propellers.

We expected we would receive a number of photos from our Dutch friends of Rotterdam making its last call of the season at Rotterdam. This is the first one! Behouden vaart! Snik!! , Voorlopig de laatste keer Rotterdam! Rik, nogmaals bedankt voor de groet vanaf de MS Rotterdam. Misschien tot een volgend keer. Groet, Hans…   read more of “First Photo of…”