1872: The company’s first ship, the original Rotterdam, departed on a 15-day maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York City.
1873: The Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij (NASM) was officially founded in Rotterdam after reorganising a previous company, Plate, Reuchlin & Co.
1882: Holland America Line started its operations in Hoboken, New Jersey.
1883: In 1883, Holland America Line adopted the “dam” suffix for the names of its passenger liners.
1888: Holland America Line started a short-lived service from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires.
1890: Holland America Line purchased its terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey.
1895: The 3,300-ton Rotterdam II sailed on Holland America Line’s first cruise, a short summer trip from Rotterdam to Copenhagen and back, passing through the Kiel Canal.
1896: NASM officially changed its name to Holland Amerika Lijn.
1898: By its 25th anniversary, Holland America Line owned six ships and had transported 90,000 cabin passengers and 400,000 steerage passengers. The company had also shipped 5 million tons of cargo, mainly consisting of flower bulbs, herring and gin.
1908: In 1908, Rotterdam IV became the company’s flagship, and it was the first ship to have an enclosed promenade deck with glass windows. This feature allowed first-class passengers to walk around the deck even in bad weather.
1910: The second Holland America Line cruise set sail from New York to the Mediterranean and the Holy Land aboard the 10,500-ton Statendam I.
1921: Holland America Line built four passenger and cargo ships - Edam IV, Leerdam II, Maasdam III and Spaarndam II - specifically for service to Cuba.
1926: The 14,450-ton Veendam II sailed Holland America Line’s first Caribbean cruise. Around the same time, Rijndam I completed the company’s first round-the-world voyage, functioning as a floating university.
1938: Nieuw Amsterdam II was built to serve as the company’s new flagship.
1951: Holland America Line changed the hulls of its passenger ships by introducing a dove-grey colour scheme.
1958: The 24,294-ton Statendam IV departed from the Hoboken terminal for Holland America Line’s first Grand World Voyage.
1959: The Rotterdam V entered service as the new flagship for the company.
1963: The company’s new terminal at Pier 40 in New York began operations.
1964: Holland America Line ships set a new record by completing 50 voyages to New York and 11 to Montréal.
1971: The grand Nieuw Amsterdam of 1938, known as the “Darling of the Dutch,” ended the company’s 98 years of transatlantic service. Afterwards, it was re-assigned to 10- and 11-day cruises to the West Indies, sailing from Port Everglades, Florida.
1972: Holland America Line introduced a new midnight-blue colour for the hulls of its passenger ships.
1973: Holland America Line purchased Brasil and Argentina and renamed them Volendam II and Veendam III. Meanwhile, the cruise line’s first purpose-built cruise line, the 8,566-ton, 452-passenger Prinsendam, entered service, offering Indonesian cruises from Singapore. Later, Nieuw Amsterdam II completed its final voyage.
1975: Prinsendam led Holland America Line’s first Alaska cruise, sailing the Inside Passage itinerary. During the summer, it sailed in Alaska and in autumn, winter and spring, it cruised through Indonesia. Other Holland America Line ships operated cruises to the Caribbean and Bermuda, while Rotterdam conducted an annual world cruise.
1978: The cruise line relocated its headquarters from Rotterdam to Stamford, Connecticut.
1983: Volendam II and Veendam III were sold, while the 1,214-guest Nieuw Amsterdam III joined the fleet.
1984: Noordam III, sister ship to Nieuw Amsterdam III, entered service and began sailing alongside Rotterdam V on Alaska cruises during the summer.
1989: Carnival Corporation purchased Holland America Line-Westours Inc.
1990: The cruise line announced a new building plan in 1990, ordering three ships with a capacity of 1,266 guests each from Fincantieri shipyards in Italy. The order was later expanded to include a fourth ship.
1993: Statendam V entered service and, during that summer, conducted the first European cruise season in about 20 years.
1996: Veendam IV entered service, increasing Holland America Line’s fleet to eight ships. In December, the cruise line purchased the 2,400-acre uninhabited island of Little San Salvador for $6 million from several Bahamian owners.
1997: Rotterdam V was retired, and the new flagship, Rotterdam VI, entered service. During its inaugural activities, Holland America Line introduced its private island, Half Moony Cay, in the Bahamas.
1999: The 63,000-gross-ton, 1,440-guest ship Volendam entered service.
2000: Rotterdam made its first-ever visit to Antarctica during Holland America Line’s Grand World Voyage. In the summer of 2000, the cruise line deployed three ships in Europe: Noordam, Maasdam and Rotterdam. Meanwhile, Amsterdam, the sister ship to Rotterdam, completed her maiden voyage. Holland America Line also introduced its new house flag featuring three blue and white stripes along with the Holland America Line Half Moon logo.
2002: Holland America Line-Westours Inc. officially changed its name to Holland America Line Inc. The first Vista-class ship, Zuiderdam, entered service. This 1,848-guest, 81,769-ton ship was designed to set a new standard for space, convenience and premium amenities.
2003: Holland America Line celebrated its 130th anniversary in Rotterdam. The festivities included the launch and naming of the new Vista-class Oosterdam by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of The Netherlands. Rotterdam joined Oosterdam for the events, which were attended by past employees, World War II veterans, local dignitaries and former guests.
2004: The Vista-class Westerdam embarked on her maiden voyage from Venice. This 81,769-ton vessel was the third in Holland America Line’s history to carry the Westerdam name. Prinsendam cruised up the Amazon River, the world’s second-longest river, marking the cruise line’s first-ever cruise there. Additionally, Half Moon Cay introduced new enhancements, including a horseback riding and swimming tour, a stingray adventure program, an AquaTrax personal watercraft course, and a family aqua park.
2006: The 81,769-ton, 1,918-passenger Noordam, the fourth ship in its history to carry that name, was officially handed over from Fincantieri Shipyard in Marghera, Italy. Actress Marlee Matlin dedicated the new Noordam, which then set sail on its maiden voyage, a roundtrip from New York to the Caribbean.
2007: Holland America Line opened a new office in Rotterdam, located near the original headquarters on Wilhelmina Pier. The cruise line also launched the As You Wish dining program, allowing guests to choose between traditional pre-set seating and dining times or a completely flexible dining schedule.
2008: Amsterdam sailed on Holland America Line’s 50th Anniversary World Cruise, a 114-day voyage that included 39 ports in 29 countries across six continents, circling the globe. Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands named the 2,104-guest Eurodam during a ceremony in Rotterdam, near the company’s original headquarters at Wilhelminakade. Eurodam then set off on its maiden voyage.
2010: Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands named the 2,106-guest Nieuw Amsterdam during a ceremony in Venice, Italy. As the fourth Holland America Line ship to carry this name, Nieuw Amsterdam set sail on its maiden voyage for a 10-day Mediterranean cruise.
2011: Holland America Line launched an industry-first Stateroom Direct Service, which allowed guests to access their staterooms immediately upon embarkation without having to wait.
2013: Holland America Line celebrated its 140th anniversary and introduced a “Signature Tulip” at Keukenhof Spring Gardens in the Netherlands.
2016: Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands officially named Koningsdam in Rotterdam.
2017: Veendam departed on its historic first cruise to Cuba, a 12-night itinerary, after receiving approval to visit the island.
2019: A dedication ceremony was held for Nieuw Statendam at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. Oprah Winfrey served as the godmother and officially named the ship during a ceremony onboard in the World Stage.
2020: Zaandam was the last ship to disembark guests after Holland America Line paused cruise operations in March due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The ships would not resume cruising until July 2021.
2021: Nieuw Amsterdam was the first ship to return to cruising after the pause in spring 2020. In July, the new flagship Rotterdam was delivered. Built at Fincantieri’s Maghera shipyard in Italy, the ship began its first cruise on a transatlantic itinerary.
2022: Koningsdam was the first ship in the industry to return to Canadian cruising after a more than two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The same year, Holland America Line celebrated 75 years of exploring Alaska, with Zuiderdam sailing the first cruise of the season from Vancouver. A naming ceremony for Rotterdam took place, where Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands served as the ship’s godmother, continuing a Dutch royal tradition from the 1920s. Holland America Line celebrated the return of its final ship to service, with Westerdam embarking on a seven-day itinerary to Alaska. This marked the first time all of the ships in the fleet were operational since the industrywide pause. Later, Rotterdam departed on a replica of the first sailing in 1872, kicking off a yearlong celebration of the line’s 150th anniversary.
2023: Holland America Line celebrated its 150th anniversary, marking a century and a half of transformation from a cargo and passenger line into a fully modern cruise company.
Future: We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Holland America Line!
