What is Holland America Line?
A: Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line.
It is a subsidiary of who?
A: Carnival Corporation.
When was Holland America Line founded?
A: In 1873, as the Dutch-American Steamship Company, a shipping and
passenger line.
Where was it headquartered?
A: In Rotterdam, in the building which is now the Hotel New York.
It provided service from its European base to where?
A: The Americas over the North Atlantic.
The company was formed as a result of the
reorganization of what earlier company?
A: Plate, Reuchlin & Co.
The company's first ship was the original Rotterdam
(1872), which sailed its 15-day maiden voyage from the Netherlands to where
on October 15, 1872?
A: New York City.
When did cargo service to New York start?
A: In 1909.
During the first 25 years, the company carried how many
people from Europe to the Americas?
A: 400,000.
When were other North American ports added?
A: During the early 20th century.
Though transportation and shipping were the primary
sources of revenue, in 1895, HAL offered its first what?
A: Vacation cruise.
Its second vacation cruise, from New York to Palestine,
was first offered when?
A: In 1910.
One notable ship was the elegant 36,000-gross register
ton SS Nieuw Amsterdam of 1937, it and RMS Queen Mary being the only two
what?
A: The only two liners built in the 1930s to make a profit.
At the start of the Second World War, HAL had how many
ships?
A: 25.
How many remained at war's end
A: 9.
At the beginning of the war, the Westernland acquired
from the Red Star Line in 1939, berthed at Falmouth, England, became what?
A: The seat of the Dutch government.
The Nieuw Amsterdam sailed half a million miles
transporting how many military personnel?
A: 400,000.
After the war, the shipping line was instrumental in
transporting what?
A: A massive wave of immigrants from the Netherlands to
Canada and
elsewhere.
Another notable ship during the post-war period was the
SS Rotterdam of 1959, one of the first North Atlantic ships equipped for
what?
A: Two-class transatlantic crossing and one-class luxury cruising.
By the late 1960s, the golden era of transatlantic
passenger ships had been ended by the introduction of what?
A: Transatlantic jet air travel.
HAL ended transatlantic service during the early 1970s,
leaving the North Atlantic passenger trade for who?
A: Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2.
It ceased operating as a Dutch line in 1989, when it
was purchased by who?
A: Carnival for 1.2 billion guilders (€530 million).
The proceeds were put into an investment company (HAL
Investments), the majority of which is owned by whom?
A: The van der Vorm family.
In the summer of
2011, Rotterdam did two transatlantic
crossings, the first traditional transatlantic runs made by the line in how
long?
A: More than 40 years.