1230
Views

Koningsdam Delivered

Koningsdam

Published Mar 31, 2016 7:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

Holland America Line’s Koningsdam was delivered on Thursday by Fincantieri. The signing ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy and was followed by the raising of the Dutch flag, as Koningsdam is registered in the Netherlands.  

The new vessel is the first in the line’s Pinnacle class. She is 99,800 gross tons, almost 300 meters long and has accommodation for up to 2,650 passengers on board in more than 1,300 cabins, 70 percent of which have private balcony overlooking the sea.

Koningsdam is the 15th ship built by by Fincantieri for Holland America Line, complementing its fleet, six years after the debut of Nieuw Amsterdam, delivered in 2010. 

The ship will soon make its way to Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, for its Premiere Voyage departing April 8. Following a series of premiere Mediterranean voyages, Koningsdam’s official naming ceremony will take place in Rotterdam on May 20.

Following the naming festivities in May, the ship will head to its summer home port of Amsterdam and sail a series of northern Europe and Baltic cruises before returning to the Mediterranean in September. In the fall, the ship will head across the Atlantic Ocean to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where it will homeport at Port Everglades and spend the season exploring the Caribbean.

The vessel’s “World Stage” theater has a circular LED wall 20 meters (66 feet) in diameter, something never built before on a ship. It spreads 270 degrees and allows the viewer to fully immerse in the entertainment. 

Fincantieri has built 72 cruise ships since 1990, 60 of which were for Carnival’s different brands. Another 13 ships are currently being designed or built in the group’s yards.

A New Order

On the same day, Fincantieri and Norwegian Cruise Line signed a deal for the construction of the second ultra-luxury cruise ship for the Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand. The new 54,000 gross ton, 223 meter vessel, which will be a sister ship to Seven Seas Explorer under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente, Genoa, will be delivered in 2020.