The fabulous Dutch liner Rotterdam (V) introduced a new and very exciting profile on the Atlantic in 1959. She then sailed as a Transatlantic liner and world cruise ship for 41 years, and in 2010 she became a hotel ship and museum in her home port of Rotterdam. She became known as the ‘Grande Dame’ of the Atlantic and on Round the World cruises, and had been given a Royal sponsor in Queen Juliana at her magnificent launching ceremony on 13th September 1958. She was completed in July 1959 and was the last great Dutch liner constructed and fitted out by the finest craftsmen in the Netherlands. She was the fifth great liner with the name of Rotterdam for her owners of Holland America Line, and looked superb in her light grey hull with white upperworks, and the company green and white houseflag on her ‘midships deckhouse structure on her top deck. I was fortunate to see her several times at Southampton and Gibraltar and was always impressed with her profile and modern design.

Rotterdam (I) to Rotterdam (IV)

The Holland America line (Nederland-Sche Amerikaanische Stoomboot Maats-Chappij or NASM) was founded on 9th April 1873 with a capital of two million gulders. The first Rotterdam was their first ship when launched on the Clyde at Renfrew at a cost of £30,000. At the dinner to celebrate her completion her builder proudly announced that for this sum paid the ship was a few feet longer than planned. This caused consternation because her length was designed to fit the Voorne lock at Hellevoet through which the ship had to pass, in those pre New Waterway days, to reach Rotterdam. In the event, the new ship fitted the lock by two feet with a fender at her bows and her stern touching the rear gate. She had accommodation for ten Cabin Class, sixty emigrants, and 800 tonnes of cargo. On 26th September 1883 she grounded on the west coast of Schouwen and was abandoned as a constructive total loss during the following month.

Rotterdam (II) was purchased in 1886 from Liverpool owners as British Empire and had been completed by Harland & Wolff ltd. at Belfast in 1878. She had accommodation for 70 First Class passengers and 850 passengers in Third Class and made her first sailing from Rotterdam to New York on 6th November 1886. On 21st June 1895 she became the first merchant ship to transit the newly opened Kiel Canal with 180 specially invited guests. She was renamed Edam later that year and transferred to the Amsterdam to New York route. She made her last two voyages in the Spring of 1899 out of Rotterdam before being sold and broken up in Italy.

Rotterdam (III) was a sizeable liner of 8,186 grt when completed at the Belfast yard of Harland & Wolff ltd. on 29th July 1897 and twice the size of any previous NASM liner. She had accommodation for 200 First Class passengers, 250 in Second Class and 2,000 in Third Class or Steerage Class. She was so successful that a larger version was ordered from the same builders and completed as Statendam (1) in 1898. Rotterdam (3) was sold to DFDS of Denmark on 5th April 1906 after being replaced by Nieuw Amsterdam (1). She had a long career under DFDS as C. F. Tietgen and the Russian America line as Dwinsk until she was torpedoed and sunk by u-151 when four hundred miles north east of Bermuda with the loss of 22 men when her seventh lifeboat was never seen again.

Rotterdam (IV) was a large twin funnelled liner of 24,149 grt when completed by the Belfast yard of Harland & Wolff ltd. in June 1908. She had accommodation for 520 passengers in First Class, 555 in Second Class, and 2,500 in Third Class. She was the first ship on the Atlantic to have a glazed in Promenade deck, and remained the largest Dutch liner until the advent of Statendam (3) in 1929. During her long career her passenger accommodation varied a lot, with her highest recorded number of passengers being 2,937 in three classes in 1913. However, she sailed from Rotterdam in august 1914 with some 2,372 American tourists fleeing Europe before the start of the First World War. No fewer than 1,386 paid for First Class tickets but they used the lounges as dormitories instead of cabins.

Rotterdam (IV) was laid up in Rotterdam in 1916 due to the war and the danger from mines. She was converted to oil-firing in 1923 and passenger numbers were reduced to 550 in First Class, 555 in Second Class, and 808 in Tourist Class. She began her popular cruising programme in 1925 from New York to the Mediterranean and from New Orleans to the Caribbean. She gained a superb reputation for her high standard of cruises and these were developed during the long years of the depression with her passenger numbers again considerably reduced. In September 1935 she grounded on Morant Cay near Kingston (Jamaica) but came off undamaged, and she continued her last cruise in September 1939 even though the outbreak of war had been declared. She made two more Transatlantic voyages from Rotterdam to New York with returning Americans and was laid up on 29th December 1939. She had sailed the equivalent of 72 times around the world, and she was broken up at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht in January 1940 after her superstructure had been removed at Waalhaven.

Rotterdam (V)

She was originally conceived as a wartime replacement for Rotterdam (IV) scrapped in 1940, but this ship was cancelled due to the takeover of Holland by Germany. When economic conditions were favourable again in 1955, the order was reinstated on 27th October 1955 as Yard number 300 with the Rotterdam dry dock Company. She was designed with both Transatlantic line voyages and cruising in mind, carrying two classes of passenger on the Atlantic and only one Tourist Class as a cruise ship. The machinery was placed in the ‘two thirds aft’ position, and her twin engine exhausts painted in white with grey and black tips in this position were a novelty on a sizeable large liner. A large deckhouse two decks high was constructed ‘midships in lieu of a funnel to provide balance, and was in use as an observation lounge with viewing platforms. This design was very controversial during her construction period, and her appearance influenced naval architect Peter West when he designed the similar Canberra for P. & o. from the Belfast yard of Harland & Wolff ltd. in 1960.

Rotterdam (V) had dimensions of length overall of 748 feet, length on the waterline of 679.8 feet and length between perpendiculars of 650 feet. She had a moulded beam of 94 feet and a depth to Main deck of 54.6 feet and a loaded draft of 29.6 feet. A gross tonnage of 38,650 with a corresponding displacement tonnage of 31,530 tonnes put her in a class of a liner of some size and importance. She cost a whacking $30 million to build, and her hull was subdivided into 42 watertight compartments and gave her eleven decks, eight of which were available to passengers. She had four complete steel decks below the Bridge deck and fo’c’stle as well as part fifth and sixth decks. Special corrosion resistant aluminium alloy was used for the deckhouse and the decks above Sun deck, as well as for the radar mast, twin exhausts and lifeboats. In addition, all trunking for the ventilating and air conditioning installations above Promenade deck was constructed of aluminium alloy. She could carry 7,678 tonnes of cargo in her twin holds with 102,000 cubic feet of dry cargo space and 14,000 cubic feet of refrigerated cargo space. She had six derricks of five and ten tonnes capacity on two sets of posts for cargo handling through her three hatches.

Navigating Bridge

Rotterdam was given a very modern appearance to her navigating bridge, with no less than five steering control positions provided. The five positions were incorporated in an interlocked system provided by the Sperry gyroscope Co. ltd. of Brentford. This precluded the use of more than one position at a time, although control could rapidly be switched from one steering position to another. Three of the five steering positions were inside the modern bridge, while the remaining two were on the starboard and port bridge wings. A central console provided two of the inside bridge positions using traditional ship’s wheels, the duplication was introduced as an extra safety factor. Automatic steering was available from this central console, which also provided true course, rudder order and rudder angle information. Forward in the wheelhouse and hard against the forward bulkhead was the third steering position, the pilot’s console which incorporated both hand and automatic steering through the medium of a lever control. The instrumentation and forward position of this third steering position made Rotterdam very suitable for navigation in narrow waterways and in the Panama and Suez Canals.

The remaining two steering positions were on the starboard and port bridge wings and comprised specially designed bearing repeater columns, in each of which was cleverly incorporated an electric steering control lever. These were intended for use when the vessel was carrying out final berthing manoeuvres or moving off from the quay. A Sperry gyroscope Mark Xiv gyro compass provided the basic reference position, and operated a number of repeater compasses and also provided the datum for automatic steering control. A rudder angle installation system was designed to complement the five steering positions with four separate displays. These were displayed on the main console, forward pilot’s console, and the other two indicators were mounted inside the wheelhouse facing outwards towards each of the bridge wing steering positions. Large clear all weather windows completed this very modern navigating bridge.

Propelling Machinery

Two sets of main three stage double reduction Parsons steam turbines developed 35,000 shaft horse power at 131.5 rpm. Steam was raised in four watertight boilers with one boiler as a spare, and they were cross connected to the turbines to permit full power on either set of turbines and provide a constant service speed of 21.5 knots. The turbines were manufactured by the famous ‘de Schelde’ yard at Flushing, which had recently completed the Swedish Amerike line flagship Kungsholm as Yard number 273 in 1953, and had also received a royal visit by Queen Juliana. The astern turbines consisted of a high pressure astern turbine in a separate housing, the rotor being coupled by means of a flexible coupling to the intermediate pressure ahead rotor, and a low pressure astern turbine incorporated in the low pressure turbine casing. The astern turbines were capable of developing 60% of the normal ahead power.

Fuel oil was stored in 27 oil tanks with a total bunker capacity of 3,429 tonnes, seventeen of these tanks were arranged in the double bottom, while the remaining tanks were in the lower port and starboard sections of the boiler and engine rooms. Rotterdam was fully stabilized using a denny-Brown stabilizer system with two retractable fins on each side of the hull. Smoke nuisance to passengers on the open decks was kept to a minimum with the boiler smoke exhausting via the new twin athwartship pipes instead of a normal funnel. Electricity was generated by four generators each of 1,350 kilowatts power.

Public Rooms and Passenger Staterooms

Rotterdam (v) had accommodation for 655 First Class passengers and 801 Tourist Class passengers as built with a crew of 776 to give a total complement when full of 2,232 persons. This accommodation was very variable as she also sailed with 580 First Class passengers and 809 in Tourist Class, or 301 in First Class and 1,055 in Tourist Class. Two decks of public rooms were provided on the Promenade deck and upper Promenade deck, with each class of passenger having one complete deck of public rooms.

Two of the public rooms occupied both of these decks, the elegant art deco Ritz Carlton lounge aft, and the magnificent balconied Theatre and Cinema auditorium forward seating 607 passengers, the largest in any liner afloat at that time and equipped with multi purpose projection equipment. The Ritz Carlton lounge also served as a nightclub and featured a high wraparound balcony from which to survey the four piece orchestra and the huge open space filled with dancers or sitting in groups at comfortable sofas and chairs.

Rotterdam (V) had expansive open decks for promenading and sunning, with the decks having large quantities of comfortable wooden lounger chairs or ‘steamer chairs’ that were a cut above normal deckchairs. All of her many large public rooms were panelled and trimmed in various types and shades of wood to give very good colour combinations. The twin domed odyssey First Class and la Fontaine Tourist Class dining Rooms were on a lower deck, and had beautiful high ceilings with two seatings for dinner, and open seatings for breakfast and lunch.

The odyssey First Class dining Room was decorated with ceramic bas-relief panels by Nico Nagler showing scenes from Homer’s odyssey while the ceiling was covered in rows of delft porcelain gold coloured stars and atoms. The décor of the room was predominantly bronze with green carpets and green table chairs at large tables seating eight, six or four diners. The serving areas were situated close to the open walkways between areas of this room which had tall bronze columns and yellow side lighting.

The la Fontaine Second Class dining Room was adjacent to the odyssey First Class dining Room and was decorated with brilliantly coloured ‘pop art’ wall murals in predominantly blue and green colours. The superb cuisine available in these two large dining rooms was all the more enjoyable for being consumed in these highly decorated surroundings. Access to these two excellent dining rooms was via elevators and a clever two-way staircase, which allowed First Class passengers to go up and down on one side while allowing Tourist Class passengers to do the same on the other side without mingling. However, when Rotterdam (v) went cruising to distant parts of the world and long Round the World voyages, all passengers were allowed to use either side of this staircase.

Kym Anton was the Dutch interior designer of the vessel, incorporating the two-way staircase, which he had previously seen in operation in America, and many other novel ideas in interior design. The Café de la Paix later became a lido Café, a buffet selling hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks provided for younger passengers. The Atlantic Promenade was also a favourite area for the younger set, and featured the ‘la Venezia’ ice cream parlour, soda bar, ping pong and other games tables as well as very informal chairs and tables.

The ambassadors First Class lounge and intimate nightclub was very strikingly decorated in tomato red, with a tomato red baby grand piano, gold and midnight blue decoration set against dark veneered woods. The room had several vertical partitions decorated with 63 golden recessed circles in patterns of nine by seven, and also had comfortable red chairs and red wall seating around this hemispherical room with extraordinarily striking murals. The furniture designs were by the famous Danish interior designer Kay Fisker, and this nightclub space was an extremely popular spot for late night jazz music.

The First Class Smoking Room was panelled in dark wood with ceilings of stripped wooden panels and lights. It was decorated throughout by wall murals, and was the perfect spot for a relaxed gathering with friends. Grey carpets and grey comfortable seats contrasted with the bolder colours of the holiday clothes worn by the passengers enjoying a get together in gorgeous surroundings.

There was also a grand Ballroom with a sweeping staircase, as well as sports facilities for both classes including a heated indoor swimming pool and an outdoor swimming pool and gymnasium. The other public rooms included a piano bar, two discotheques, and wide panoramic lounges, and a casino. The most important feature of the vessel was that all of these public rooms, passenger staterooms, and crew quarters were air conditioned. Some three dozen air conditioning units positioned throughout the ship filtered, cooled and dehumidified the air in summer, or heated and humidified the air in winter.

The First Class Staterooms had a sense of spaciousness with plenty of light brown carpets, cream panelled wall coverings, with dark veneered wood dressing tables and wardrobes. The large size double beds had coverings in cream and brown and the staterooms exuded an air of refinement. The temperature in each passenger stateroom was controlled by means of a thermostat, which operated a reheat battery to maintain an average temperature of seventy degrees Fahrenheit in each stateroom. The interiors of each stateroom, as well as those of all the public rooms, were magnificently decorated by a team of artists and interior designers working in ceramic art, murals and polished brass decoration.

Rotterdam (V) boasted an extensive ‘Lijnbaan’ Shopping Mall, and one of the first shopping ‘malls’ afloat, called the ‘Lijnbaan’ after the great Rotterdam shopping centre ashore. The various shops sold duty free precious stones, watches, perfumes, jewellery, ceramics, gifts, and toilet articles of all types. Rotterdam (V) also had a unique games Room forward on Promenade deck with all kinds of the latest amusements. In short, Rotterdam (V) compared very favourably with every other liner or cruise ship in service at the time of her delivery in 1959. This can be summed up by quoting from her fold out brochure given to prospective American passengers:-

 ‘Rotterdam (V) is one of the world’s great ships, and when aboard our fabulous flagship you will enjoy cuisine from many lands that few of the world’s great restaurants can equal, with gracious and attentive Old World service, décor of breath taking artistry, and an exciting round of festive social activities. Our flagship now sails and arrives at New York at the new Holland America Line Pier 40, which is strategically located on Manhattan’s West Side at West Houston Street and North River. This unique, square shaped concrete and marble pier is centrally located only minutes away from railroad and bus terminals, and the heliport. It is the world’s first ‘drive-in’ passenger ship terminal, and you and your guests are able to drive or taxi directly up to the embarkation area and elegant waiting room, both on the Second Floor. You are also able to park your car there for a nominal fee or store it indoors for the duration of your voyage.’

Career of Rotterdam (V)

Rotterdam (V) sailed on her maiden voyage from Rotterdam to New York via Southampton on 3rd September 1959 carrying the then Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands. The Princess disembarked in lower New York harbour to a waiting Dutch warship for the final journey up the harbour to Manhattan. Rotterdam (v) moved to her berth in triumph surrounded by the usual New York cavalcade of tugs, fireboats with cascading water, and pleasure boats. She carried out one more Transatlantic voyage, and then moved into her autumn and Winter season of cruising with New York to the Caribbean and two much longer cruises, one around South America and the other to three continents of South America, Africa and Europe. She made her first three month Round the World cruise in January 1961.

Rotterdam (V) sailed for ten years as a part-time transatlantic liner until withdrawn at the end of the 1969 summer season. She had been partnered by the much loved twin funnelled Nieuw Amsterdam of 1938, but the number of passengers opting for a long transatlantic voyage had dwindled to uneconomic levels, in fact more passengers had flown across the Atlantic than had sailed across it in her maiden year of 1959. Nieuw Amsterdam continued in service on the Atlantic until withdrawn from service in 1974. She went for scrapping after a series of preservation attempts failed.

The 1970s and 1980s decades were a time of achievements and a few problems for Rotterdam (V). The latter included the collapse of a dockwall in 1973 at Lisbon when she was in dry dock, and she was nearly destroyed by the ensuing flooding. While sailing off Casablanca in 1976, a giant wave of monstrous proportions caused considerable damage, but she was repaired. In 1973, her home port and registry changed to Willemstad on Curacao, as Hamburg America line moved its headquarters to the Netherlands Antilles Island. In her 1977 refit, her passenger capacity was reduced from 1,499 to 1,144 passengers in one class.

The annual cruising pattern of Rotterdam (V) then became one of winters in the Caribbean, summers in the Alaskan trade from Vancouver, with a three month Round the World cruise starting from New York in the first days of January. She arrived at Bermuda on 27th October 1978 on a cruise from New York with her decks full of happy holidaymakers looking forward to an enjoyable day exploring the delights of Hamilton. on her 1981 Round the World cruise westwards via the Panama Canal she took 22 days to cross the Pacific from San Francisco, arriving at Hong Kong on 17th February 1981. On her 1982 Round the World cruise she sailed from New York on 10th January and after calling at Cartagena and Cristobal at the Panama Canal, she crossed the Pacific to a rapturous welcome at Suva on Fiji on 6th February 1982.

Rotterdam (V) completed more Round the World cruises than any other vessel during her career. The ‘Silver Jubilee’ Round the World cruise of January 1986 was followed by her 26th Round the World cruise that began at New York and Port Everglades on the last days of December 1987. This took her via Cartagena and the Panama Canal to ten ports in the Pacific followed by Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bombay, Safaga and through the Suez Canal to visit another ten ports in the Mediterranean before heading homewards to New York, arriving in early April 1988. She was an extremely popular and profitable cruise ship, with one estimate of her earning revenue put at excess of $180 million to this point of time. The 30th Round the World cruise sailed from Port Everglades on 5th February 1992 and called at Cartagena and Cristobal before arriving for a ‘hula-hula’ welcome at Honolulu on 28th February 1992, and then westwards until final arrival at New York in late April 1982. The 34th Round the World cruise sailed from Port Everglades in early January 1996 and arrived to an enthusiastic welcome at Sydney on 8th February 1996 before she moved on and called at Hobart a few days later.

A remarkable career with Holland America line of 38 years ended in 1997 with one of her last cruises being a twenty day cruise from New York on 27th April 1997. She called at Port Everglades, Aruba and then transited the Panama Canal to Golfo Dulce, Puerto Caldera/San Jose, Puerto Quetzal/Tikal, Huatulco, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Zihuatanejo and Puerto Vallarta. She then moved north from Mexican waters to Los Angeles and Vancouver to take up her final Alaskan cruising season. She had been very well maintained during her long career, but now was unable to give her passengers all of the modern amenities and facilities they required. She was withdrawn from service on 30th September 1997 at Port Everglades by Holland America line after a final gala Festive cruise. She was sold on the following day to Cruise Holdings of the USA, the holding company of Premier Cruises, Seawind Cruises and Dolphin Cruises with a portfolio of five classic liners on a lease/purchase deal. International Shipping Partners of Miami were her managers, which also managed the remainder of the Cruise Holdings’ cruise ships together with five more cruise ships for other owners.

Rotterdam (V) was then renamed Rembrandt after the Dutch painter (1606- 1669) in order that she did not completely lose her Dutch identity. She now had accommodation for 1,114 Tourist class passengers in 571 cabins. She was remeasured at 39,674 gross tonnage and her hull was now painted dark blue with gold stripes, and the ‘Premier Cruises’ name was emblazoned in big letters on both sides of her hull. This rebranding was done in dry dock from 1st October 1997 which also included ‘SOLAS’ upgrades. She returned to cruise service on 21st December 1997 sailing from Rio de Janeiro on a number of South American cruises marketed by Brazilian and Argentinean tour operators that lasted until April 1998. She was then repositioned to Barcelona and Palma (Majorca) for a summer season of seven night Mediterranean cruises marketed in New York that lasted from May to October 1998. Premier Cruises took up the purchase option for her at this time, paying $46 million in a joint purchase of Rotterdam (v) and island Breeze, the former Transvaal Castle.

Final Call at Rotterdam

Rembrandt returned to the port of her birth, Rotterdam, in the late summer of 1998 on a European cruise, with thousands of Dutch people lining the waterfront to see the former Holland America line flagship arrive and depart. Unfortunately, Premier Cruises was bankrupted two years later on 13th September 2000. It was midnight when this became official and the Master of Rembrandt was ordered to dock and hurriedly disembark her passengers at Halifax (NS) from her last cruise. She was arrested the next day, and then sailed from Halifax (NS) to lay up at Freeport in the Bahamas on 15th September 2000 to begin a long lay up of nearly four years there. The voyage from Halifax (NS) to Freeport was in fact the last time that she moved under her own engine power, all of her later movements were under tow.

She was purchased in 2004 by her builders, the Rotterdam dry dock Company, and another Dutch company, but due to financing difficulties her builders went out of business. A year later, she was purchased by a consortium of two Dutch companies in Woonbron, a housing company, and Eurobalance. She was towed from Freeport to Gibraltar and arrived there on 12th July 2004 for asbestos removal performed by the Cuddy group of the UK I saw her alongside at the former Naval dockyard in November 2005 while on holiday in Gibraltar. She looked tired and weary with paint flaking and rust all over her formerly beautiful Promenade decks and some of her lifeboats missing. Work was slow and the removal of asbestos and repairs caused costs to escalate. She then was towed from Gibraltar to Cadiz for dry-docking and restoring to her original light grey hull with white upperworks.

She was then towed to Gdansk where problems with asbestos removal arose again and the Polish shipyard workers refused to work on her. She was towed this time to Wilhelmshaven, and the work of restoration was completed at a total cost of almost €200 million. She returned in triumph under tow to her home port of Rotterdam in august 2008. Finally, after yet more work was done to her interiors, she opened as a combination hotel and museum ship and a school for vocational training on 5th February 2012 in Rotterdam. She is moored today a little off the banks of the river, looking in pristine condition in her original light grey hull colour and white upperworks.

Postscript

Carnival Cruises of Miami had purchased Holland America line in 1988 for $625 million together with its four cruise ships of Rotterdam (V), Nieuw Amsterdam (3), Noordam (3) and Westerdam (2) with a total of 4,500 berths. The quartet all sailed to Alaska from Vancouver in the summer and the Eastern Caribbean from Port Everglades in the winter. Passengers booked with Holland America line were well heeled as their Caribbean cruises cost 27% more than a Carnival cruise of the same length. However, Rotterdam (V) retained her Dutch crew, and Dutch personnel were still involved in the company particularly on the ship operating side in the new headquarters.

A large model of around forty feet in length of Rotterdam (V) can also be seen today on a lake in The Hague in the miniature city of Madurodam, a tourist attraction. The model was repainted and restored at the former works of the Rotterdam dry dock Company to be an exact copy of Rotterdam (V) in her original light grey hull colours with white upperworks. The life size Rotterdam (V) has now been beautifully restored to her original condition, and one can enjoy a stay on board her as she was sold on 12th June 2013 to WestCord Hotels, which also owns the revamped former Holland America line headquarters building nearby in Rotterdam, now traded as Hotel New York. Better still, book an enjoyable two centre holiday on board the majestic Rotterdam (V) and the very luxurious Hotel New York in Rotterdam at www.ssrotterdam.nl and www.hotelnewyork. nl. Hotel New York has been revamped to a five star luxury hotel, but still retains the old traditional river facade with ‘Holland Amerika Lijn’ at the top in big letters and the twin green clock towers at each end.

When one arrives on board Rotterdam (V) one can tour the twin Promenade decks, Restaurant and Lijnbaan Shop free of charge. If one wishes to take the Rotterdam Complete Tour of navigating bridge, engine room, chart room, radio room, Master’s Suite, public rooms and indoor swimming pool one has to book the two hour tour costing only €16. Conferences and special parties and events are also held on her aft decks and public rooms.

The cruise ship Rotterdam (VI) carries on the great tradition of a ship of this name for Holland America line, now part of Carnival Cruises. Rotterdam (VI) entered service in November 1997 from the Breda yard in Venice of Fincantieri with dimensions of 238.0 metres by 32.3 metres with a gross tonnage of 59,652 and accommodation for 1,668 passengers in 660 berths. She is thus only slightly longer by twenty feet and a few feet wider than Rotterdam (V), but of course much improved in her public rooms and passenger facilities. She has a service speed of 22.5 knots from five 16 cylinder Sulzer diesel engines of 78,445 bhp connected to two electric motors and twin controllable pitch propellers. Rotterdam (VI) is cruising in Europe, Round Africa and in the Far East during 2016, and her passengers will enjoy her theatre named ‘Showroom of the Sea’, la Fontaine dining Room, art gallery, lido and her big open decks, and she will hopefully sail for many years to come to carry on the great tradition of liners named Rotterdam.