SEATTLE, May 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a festive
event rich with Dutch heritage, Holland America Line held a
Dedication Ceremony for ms Koningsdam Friday, May 20, 2016, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her Majesty Queen
Máxima of the Netherlands
officially blessed the bell and named Koningsdam on board
ship in front of invited dignitaries, cruise guests, travel
partners and media.
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The celebration began with Her Majesty Queen Máxima performing
the ceremonial honors of blessing the ship's bell in the Lido pool
area by pouring a glass of champagne over the bell.. The blessing
of the ship's bell is a hallowed Holland America Line tradition
when welcoming a new ship to the fleet. Her Majesty also was the
first to sign Koningsdam's commemorative wall that will
become a permanent installation on the ship.
Next, the ship was officially christened during a ceremony in
the World Stage theater when Her Majesty Queen Máxima pulled a rope
to trigger the traditional champagne bottle break on
Koningsdam's hull.
"It's an honor to have Her Majesty Queen Máxima as the godmother
to Koningsdam, and May 20 was
a truly special day with Her Majesty delivering the ceremonial
traditions of welcoming our newest ship to the fleet," said
Orlando Ashford, Holland America
Line's president. "As our company was founded in Rotterdam more than 143 years ago, it was
fitting to return to our roots for Koningsdam's royal
dedication."
Also a traditional part of dedicating a new ship for the line is
the appointment of Mariner Ambassadors to represent the important
role of loyal repeat guests in the company's ongoing success.
Serving as Koningsdam's Mariner Ambassadors were Enrique
"Rick" Encarnacion and Ernest
Schenk. Both dedicated Mariners, the pair have sailed more
than 1,650 days each on Holland America Line cruises. Schenk first
sailed with the line on a trans-Atlantic cruise aboard ss
Ryndam. Encarnacion first sailed with Holland America Line in
1997 aboard an ms Statendam Panama Canal cruise.
Following the ceremony, a gala luncheon was held onboard in
addition to shipwide celebrations throughout the day. In the
evening the ship will set sail for Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to overnight on
May 21, and fireworks lit up the sky
as Koningsdam passed Hoek van
Holland. Thousands of Dutch residents came out throughout
the day to join in Holland America
Line's special events.
During its inaugural season in Europe, Koningsdam sails in the
Mediterranean and then repositions from Civitavecchia (the port for
Rome) to its summer homeport of
Amsterdam. The ship will go
on to sail roundtrip Amsterdam
itineraries to Norway, the Baltic
and Iceland.
Following its Europe season,
Koningsdam will homeport at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ship will sail
one cruise to the Bahamas and then
a series of Caribbean voyages from
November 2016 through March 2017.
CONTACT: Sally
Andrews
PHONE: 800-637-5029
EMAIL:
pr@hollandamerica.com
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SOURCE Holland America Line