SS Rotterdam

The SS Rotterdam was launched in 1958 and entered service in 1959 as the flagship of the Holland America Line, running the Rotterdam-New York route and later cruising, and she was designed as a deliberate break with the transatlantic tradition: no funnels, with the exhaust taken up two slender uptakes at the stern so the deck space was freed, no formal class division built into the layout, and interiors by Dutch designers in a restrained modern manner rather than period pastiche. She was the last major Dutch-built transatlantic liner. Retired in 2000, bought for a return home in 2003 and brought back to Rotterdam in 2008 after a long and contested restoration, she is now moored at Katendrecht as a hotel, restaurant and museum ship, with guided tours through the bridge, engine room, salons and cabins. The Katendrecht quarter around her has been redeveloped from a rough dock district.

History

Queen Juliana launched the ship on 13 September 1958, and she was handed over to the Holland America Line on 20 July 1959, carrying the Crown Princess of the Netherlands to New York on her maiden voyage. She left the Atlantic for full-time cruising in 1968, sailed as the Rembrandt for Premier Cruise Line until 2000, returned to Rotterdam on 8 August 2008 and opened as a hotel and museum on 15 February 2010 (Wikipedia, SS Rotterdam).

Highlights

• A liner without funnels - exhaust taken up stern uptakes to free the deck.
• The last Dutch transatlantic - the 1959 Holland America flagship.
• Restrained modern interiors - Dutch design rather than period pastiche.
• Tours through the ship - bridge, engine room, salons and cabins.

When to go

All year. Half a day.

Good to know

Tours are guided, timed and book ahead; areas close for hotel and event use. She is moored and does not sail. Katendrecht is a walk or water taxi from the centre. The restoration was expensive and contested.

Nearby

The Erasmus bridge and Hotel New York are across the water; Euromast is west.

Key facts