A second transatlantic crossing by new Holland America Line ship Rotterdam has been added to a schedule of celebratory events to mark the company’s 150th anniversary next year
Three cruises have been cancelled to accommodate the new departure, and all passengers and travel agents have been notified, according to the company.
Departing from Fort Lauderdale in Florida on April 3, 2023, the 16-night itinerary sails to the ship’s namesake town in the Netherlands, retracing in reverse the line’s first voyage.
Bookings for the new eastbound transatlantic crossing via New York, Plymouth and Dover will open on July 14.
The ship is set to arrive on April 18 – Holland America Line’s 150th anniversary – in Rotterdam for festivities overnight.
The first special 150th anniversary crossing that will leave Rotterdam on October 15, exactly 150 years to the date of the departure of Rotterdam I’s maiden voyage.
The crossing will recreate that first sailing, going from Rotterdam to New York, with calls at Plymouth and Dover, then on to Fort Lauderdale. The ship will stay overnight in New York for special celebrations.
President Gus Antorcha said: “As we got deeper into planning the events surrounding our 150th, we knew that the best place to celebrate the date of our founding was in the city of Rotterdam where it all started.
“These voyages that mark our first departure and our anniversary are going to be incredibly memorable as we retrace our first sailing from the 1870s, but on a modern, luxury cruise ship. We anticipate the April cruise to be as popular as the October sailing.”