MS Borealis explained

Borealis is a cruise ship of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, sailing since July 2021. She was built as MS Rotterdam and was the co-flagship for Holland America Line, for which she sailed for 22 years.

Construction and career

As Rotterdam

Commissioned in 1997 by the Holland America Line, the vessel was christened as Rotterdam by Princess Margriet of the Netherlands on 9 December 1997, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and made its first call at the Port of Rotterdam on 10 June 1998.[1] Rotterdam was the sixth Holland America vessel to bear the name. She was named for of 1959, and also named after the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.The ship paid homage to the 1959 Rotterdam's by having trademark twin funnels, along with lounges and dining rooms sharing the same name as the 1959 ship.[2] MS Rotterdam and her sister ship were co-flagships of Holland America Line (HAL).

Rotterdam carried an art collection on board worth over US$2 million and featured fine art and antiques.

In September 2004, the vessel lost power when all four engines failed during Hurricane Karl while doing a transatlantic crossing. Swells reached 10to. Many passengers suffered injuries during this period, the most severe being fractured bones. Rotterdam regained power and continued its journey to Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 28 September.[3]

During the summer of 2011, Rotterdam conducted Holland America Line's first standalone transatlantic crossing since 1971, making a single trip both eastbound and westbound.[4]

Refit

In 2012, Rotterdam received a major refit in Hamburg. The upper aft superstructure was rebuilt with the addition of extra cabins, and the removal of the aft swimming pool.[5]

Sold to Fred Olsen cruises

Due to the pandemic and shutdown of the cruise industry, the flagships Rotterdam and sister Amsterdam were sold to Fred Olsen Cruises in summer 2020.[6] [7] The ship sailed from its namesake city one final time as the Rotterdam on 11 August 2020. A new (VII) debuted in July 2021.

As Borealis

In the fall of 2020 the ship sailed to Scotland and was laid up with the rest of Fred Olsen fleet prior to being refitted for service. The name Borealis refers to a ship of the same name that was part of the Fred. Olsen line in 1948, before it became a cruise line. The transformation of Rotterdam to Borealis started in August 2020 at Damen Shipyards in Schiedam, near Rotterdam with completion in July 2021.[8] Shortly after making its maiden trip,[9] Borealis suffered a technical issue that caused the cancellation of a cruise as the ship remained in Portsmouth.[10]

Borealis homeport is Liverpool.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Princess Margriet Helps Celebrate ms Rotterdam's 100th Call at Rotterdam . Holland America Line blog . 6 July 2015 . 23 August 2020.
  2. Book: Guns, Arnout . ss Rotterdam : een scheepsbiografie . 2015 . WalburgPers . Nico Guns, Vrienden van Stoomschip Rotterdam . 978-94-6249-031-4 . Hernieuwde, verbeterde en aangevulde editie . [Zutphen] . 923338666.
  3. Web site: 'Cruise from hell' terrifies passengers . CBC News . 28 September 2004 . 30 March 2020.
  4. News: Gene. Sloan . After three decades, Holland America returns to classic trans-Atlantic crossings . USA Today. 18 November 2010. 21 November 2010.
  5. Web site: 18 December 2012 . Rotterdam Gets a Makeover in Time for the Holidays . 27 April 2022 . Holland America Blog . en-US.
  6. Web site: Mathisen . Monty . 15 July 2020 . Fred. Olsen Buys the Amsterdam and Rotterdam from Holland America . 27 April 2022 . www.cruiseindustrynews.com . en-gb.
  7. Web site: 16 July 2020 . Holland America Line sells four cruise ships . 27 April 2022 . Ship Technology . en-US.
  8. Web site: 14 July 2021; ms Rotterdam (VI) Revisited. – – Captain Albert's Blog –. 8 August 2021. en-US.
  9. Web site: Williams. Angus. 5 July 2021. 'Momentous day' as Suffolk cruise line sets sail again after pandemic. 8 August 2021. East Anglian Daily Times. en-UK.
  10. Web site: Staff. C. I. N.. 16 July 2021. Fred. Olsen's New Borealis Suffers Technical Problems. 8 August 2021. www.cruiseindustrynews.com. en-gb.
  11. Web site: Cammell Laird completes Fred. Olsen's Borealis' multimillion-pound refurb . Seatrade Cruise News . 15 November 2022 . 6 April 2023.