SS Rotterdam

On September 13, 1958 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands christened the SS Rotterdam, a magnificent new ocean liner built for the Holland America Line.  At 748 feet and 38,650 tons, she was a large ship, but more significant was her modern new look.

Absent from the Rotterdam was the traditional funnel, replaced by a deckhouse mid-ship and twin uptake pipes above her machinery located aft.  Her modern design was groundbreaking and set the stage for many ship designs to come, but combined with this new look remained the gracious lines of a classic ocean liner.

The Rotterdam was designed for both transatlantic service and ocean cruising.  The transatlantic business dried up in 1969, but she continued on as a hugely successful cruise ship remaining in the service of Holland America Line for over 38 years.   Renowned for her annual round the world cruises she became known as “the Grande Dame” of the seas.  However by the mid 1990’s her days were numbered with the impending new SOLAS regulations and Holland America wanting to upgrade their fleet.  In September of 1997 she was sold to Premier Cruises.  Renamed the SS Rembrandt, the ship continued cruising for three more years until the end came abruptly in September of 2000 when Premier Cruises suddenly went bankrupt.  At that time the former Rotterdam was ingloriously impounded in Halifax harbour.

The Rotterdam in Hoboken, N.J 1960

In 1960, my father snapped this photo of the Rotterdam as we arrived in New York City on a cruise from Bermuda.  She was a brand new ship at the time and very much lived up to the promotional slogan, “The ship of tomorrow, today”.  As I grew up, this picture continued to intrigue me and I resolved that someday I would be a passenger on the Rotterdam.  That opportunity finally came in September of 1994 when the much older Rotterdam was scheduled to do a three day cruise out of Vancouver up the Straight of Georgia into the far reaches of Bute Inlet, down to Seattle, then back to Vancouver.  Bonnie-Rae and I were living in Vernon at the time, so the logistics and cost

Early morning stroll on the promenade deck

of the cruise were very manageable.  As it turned out, it was a spectacular three days and the Rotterdam certainly lived up to all of our expectations.  Her elegant interiors, rich fittings and wonderful artwork remained largely intact

Bute Inlet from the bow of the Rotterdam

and she was a pleasure to cruise on.  Adding to the enjoyment of the ship was the pristine beauty of Bute Inlet and gorgeous September weather.  Bute Inlet is widely considered one of the grandest fjords in the world and is surrounded by rugged

Bute Inlet

coastal mountains that rise out of the emerald waters to heights of nearly 10,000 feet.  We sailed right to the north end of the Inlet, apparently one of the first large cruise ships to do so.  One couldn’t find a better setting for a cruise on the Rotterdam. 

Following the wilderness portion of our cruise, we sailed down to Seattle for a marked change of pace.  We enjoyed the big city, exploring Pike Place Market and other local attractions, again in

gorgeous September weather.  While docked in Seattle, I took this picture of the Rotterdam which is still one of my favourites of the ship.  Amazingly, the SS Rotterdam has avoided the breaker’s torch on the beach in Alang, India where so many liners of her era have been scrapped.  The ship now serves as a museum, hotel, and school for vocational training in the port of Rotterdam.