SS Rotterdam

The fifth SS Rotterdam, also known as "The Grande Dame", is a former ocean liner and cruise ship, and has been a hotel ship in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 2010. She was launched by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and was completed the following summer.

For other ships with the same name, see List of ships named SS Rotterdam.
SS Rotterdam at sea
History
Netherlands
Name:
  • Rotterdam (1959–1997)
  • Rembrandt (1997–2003)
  • Rotterdam (2004–present)
Owner:
  • Holland America Line (1959–1997)
  • Premier Cruises (1997–2000)
  • No owner (2000–2003)
  • Rotterdam Drydock Company (2003–2005)
  • De Rotterdam BV (2005–2013)
  • WestCord Hotels (2013–present)
Operator:
  • Holland America Line (1959–1997)
  • Premier Cruises (1997–2000)
Port of registry:
Ordered: October 27, 1955
Builder: Rotterdam Drydock Company mij., Rotterdam, Netherlands
Cost: $(US) 30,000,000 (1959)[1]
Yard number: 300
Laid down: December 14, 1956
Launched: September 13, 1958
Christened: HM Queen Juliana[1]
Completed: 1959
Maiden voyage: September 3, 1959
In service: 1959 - 2000
Out of service: September 21, 2000
Identification: IMO number: 5301019
Fate: Preserved as a hotel/museum/tourist attraction
Status: Permanently docked in Rotterdam, Netherlands
General characteristics
Tonnage: 38,645 gross tons[1]
Displacement: 31,530 tons
Length: 228.0 m (748 ft)[1]
Beam: 28.71 m (94.1 ft)[1]
Height: 61 m (200.1 ft)
Draft: 9.04 m (29.6 ft)[1]
Decks: 10[1]
Installed power: 38,000 horsepower @ 135.5 RPM
Propulsion:

2 steam turbines manufactured by de Schelde, Vlissingen (Flushing), Netherlands

4 V2M 640PSI Boilers (3 active, 1 reserve), designed by Combustion Engineering and manufactured by de Schelde
Speed: 21.5 knots
Capacity: 1,456 passengers
Crew: 776 officers and crew

The Rotterdam was the last great Dutch "ship of state", employing the finest artisans from the Netherlands in her construction and fitting out process.[2] Her career spanned forty-one years. She sailed from 1959 until her final retirement in September 2000.

Concept and design

Originally she was conceived as a running mate to the popular Nieuw Amsterdam launched in 1937, but work was put on hold at the outbreak of World War II in Europe. When economic conditions once again became favorable for completion of the new ship in early 1954, the beginning of the end of ocean liners as basic transport was visible on the horizon.

The designers took this in mind and created a groundbreaking vessel, a two class, horizontally divided ship with movable partitions and a unique double staircase allowing for easy conversion to cruising. The christening and launch on September 13, 1958 by Queen Juliana was a huge crowd puller, with tens of thousands on both banks of the river.[3] Rotterdam's machinery was shifted aft, to the now-traditional two thirds aft position, and in lieu of a funnel twin uptake pipes were fitted.

To provide balance, a large deckhouse was built atop the superstructure in the midships position of a typical funnel. While very controversial at the time,[4] her appearance became groundbreaking,[3] and her then unique design features can be found on cruise ships today.

History

As the Rotterdam
Rotterdam as a cruise ship.

Her sea trials and handing over to Holland America Line took place on July 20, 1959, just a few months before her maiden crossing of the Atlantic. On her maiden voyage she carried the then Crown Princess of the Netherlands to New York.

Due to the growing popularity of air travel, an increasing number of transatlantic liners began to disappear from service. This trend led to the Rotterdam's permanent retirement from transatlantic service in 1969. Subsequently, she received a small refit for permanent cruising and began her new life as a full time cruise ship. The Rotterdam also became a one class ship after this refit.

She became increasingly popular throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, with mostly American and Australian passengers. Another refit in 1977 saw her passenger capacity decreased from 1,499 to 1,144. By the 1980s the ship had settled into a routine of winters in the Caribbean and summers in Alaska, with the occasional (and very popular) world cruise. Carnival Cruise Lines took over Holland America Line in 1989.

She remained in service until 1997, when Carnival announced, much to the dismay of the ship's loyal fans, that to upgrade her to meet the new 1997 SOLAS regulations would cost 40 million dollars.[3] Carnival had been opting to retire what they had supposedly called the "old ship." A replacement, the sixth Rotterdam, was ordered from Fincantieri shipyards in Italy. A gala finale cruise ended her final season on September 30, 1997.

As the Rembrandt
The Big Red Boat III and Rembrandt laid up in Freeport's harbor on August 25, 2001.

She was sold to Premier Cruises and renamed SS Rembrandt. Controversially Premier was able to refit the Rembrandt for new safety regulations as well as many other things for half the amount Carnival had predicted.[3]

She sailed for Premier along with the ex ocean liners Oceanic, Eugenio C and Transvaal Castle, all now named Big Red Boat I, II and III. She continued to serve as a fairly popular cruise ship out of Port Canaveral, Florida until September 13, 2000, when Premier Cruises shut down.

It was midnight when this was made official and the captain of the Rembrandt was ordered to dock in Halifax, Nova Scotia and offload all.[5] She was subsequently placed under arrest by the Halifax Sheriff's department until the next morning, then days later she sailed to be laid up in Freeport, Bahamas.

Restoration and hotel opening
Rotterdam as she is today, permanently moored as a hotel and museum.

On July 12, 2004, she arrived at Gibraltar for asbestos encapsulation and removal performed by the Cuddy Group of the UK. She next visited Cadiz where her hull was repainted its original Holland America grey, and then moved on to Poland and Germany for final restoration. She returned to the city of Rotterdam on August 8, 2008.

She opened to the public on February 15, 2010 as a combination museum/hotel and school for vocational training.[6] On 12 June 2013, she was sold to WestCord Hotels, which also owns the Hotel New York located in the former Holland America Line headquarters building in Rotterdam.[7]

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References
  1. Ward, Douglas (1995). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Oxford: Berlitz. ISBN 2-8315-1327-8.
  2. SS REMBRANDT Maritime Matters Archived 2005-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Goossens, Reuben. "SS Rotterdam". Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. Great Cruise Ships and Ocean Liners from 1954 to 1986: A Photographic Survey by William H. Miller Jr.
  5. "History of Nova Scotia with special attention given to Communications and Transportation". Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  6. "Ss Rotterdam kan eind december open" (in Dutch). NU.NL. 2009-11-04. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  7. Friends of steamship Rotterdam. "News". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

Further reading
  • Beekhuis, Boy (2013). SS Rotterdam (in Dutch). Breda: NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. OCLC 839641612.
  • van Burkom, Frans; Laan, B M; Loomeijer, F J (2004). SS Rotterdam (1959): een cultuurhistorische waardestelling [SS Rotterdam: A cultural-historical value assessment] (in Dutch). Rotterdam: unpublished report commissioned by ss Rotterdam BV. OCLC 65942157.
  • Guns, Arnout and Nico (2015). SS Rotterdam: Een beknopte scheepsbiografie [SS Rotterdam: A brief biography of the ship] (in Dutch) (rev. ed.). Zutphen: Walburg Pers. ISBN 9789462490314.
  • den Houter, F (1959). Bouwnummer 300 SS 'Rotterdam' (in Dutch). Hilversum: De Boer. OCLC 902398264.
  • Krijnen, Romy (2010). Bedrijfsopdracht SS Rotterdam [SS Rotterdam: company mission statement] (in Dutch). Breda: NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. OCLC 713210085.
  • Miller, William H.; Correia, Luís (1997). SS Rotterdam of 1959. Lisbon: Liner Books. ISBN 9729694044.
  • Moscoviter, Herman (2008). SS Rotterdam: de thriller van de terugkeer [SS Rotterdam: the thriller of the return] (in Dutch). Schiedam: Artemis. ISBN 9789077075760.
  • Payne, Stephen M. (1990). Grande Dame: Holland America Line and the S.S. Rotterdam. London: RINA Ltd. ISBN 0903055120.
  • Rutten, Lotte (2013). SS Rotterdam: gezinnen met kinderen aan boord van het ss Rotterdam [SS Rotterdam: families with children on board the SS Rotterdam] (in Dutch). Breda: NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. OCLC 876715152.

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