It took a number of events, sailings, special investigations and other efforts to get us where we are today with Holland America Line: Impressed.  Dedicating new ms Koningsdam in the Netherlands was a grand occasion done with just the right amount of celebratory activities.  Frankly, the ship speaks for herself, going beyond offering a number of unique features as most new ships like to have bragging rights for.  I promised details on the ship and those will come.  Before we get to that point, it’s a much better story if we take a little time to see where Holland America Line came from, Holland America today and what the future has in store.  This is one of those stories you will thank me for spending a lot of time on when we meet in person years from now.

First, posts here at ChrisCruises.com about Holland America Today:

• On Similar Paths: Rotterdam, Koningsdam and Holland America
• Koningsdam Arrives In Rotterdam [Photos]
• Holland America Christening Highlights Broader Focus
• Holland America Christening Proves: They Get It About Us

Holland America Today Facebook Photo Albums:

• Koningsdam Arrives!
• Hotel New York – Rotterdam
• Koningsdam Christening Day
• ssRotterdam, The Hotel

Holland America Today Flickr Photo Collections;

• First Impressions: Hotel New York- Rotterdam– wow
• Yacht Club Rotterdam– took us deep into the social climate in Rotterdam, both past and present
• ss Rotterdam– now a hotel, the ss Rotterdam was once the pride of the Holland America Line fleet
• Koningsdam Arrives– the ship came in from the North Sea as locals gathered to welcome ms Koningsdam home
• A Brief Tour Of The Hotel New York– the cheap seats on the tour bus got this rendition
• Hotel New York Tour– with the hotel general manager, we went deep into the history of what was once the headquarters of Holland America Line
• Hotel New York And The History Of Holland America Line– the connection is pretty hard to overlook/miss.
• Koningsdam Christening Tour– What we did on a very full day of christening activities
• Seen At Koningsdam – Celebrities on the scene
• Koningsdam Christening– images from the ceremony
• The Queen Departs- I watched from my balcony as Queen Maxima left the scene, engaged adoring subjects
• Christening Sailaway- Many of those same adoring subjects of Queen Maxima lined the riverbanks as ms Koningsdam headed to the North Sea
• Christening Fireworks- further down the itinerary on that first night’s sailaway, fireworks celebrated the occasion

All of the above and we have not even begun to talk specifics of the hardware and, more importantly, what Holland America does with it.  The crew?  Also a great story as well as a number of other topics being written right now by me or someone else:

• Coming soon: Fresh Look At Old Itineraries Fueled By New Ship, Evolved Focus
• Coming soon: The Lovely Place Holland America Line Calls Home
• Coming soon: Holland America Line: Owning The Space Between Fun And Luxury
• Coming soon: Holland America Line vs Celebrity Cruises: Not All That Similar Come To Think Of It
• Coming soon: Why Koningsdam Should Have Other Big Ship Cruise Lines Worried If Not Begging For Mercy
• Coming soon: Koningsdam: The Big Ship Viking Would Build If They Were So Inclined
• Coming soon: New Reasons You REALLY Need To Consider Holland America Line Right Now
• Coming soon: Urgent: There Has Never Been A Better Time To Sail With Holland America Line Except 1949