MS Borealis

Rotterdam at Rotterdam in August 2018

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 SS Rotterdam of 1959, and also named after the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. MS Rotterdam and her sister ship MS Amsterdam 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 10 to 15 metres (33 to 49 ft). 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.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4]

Rotterdam sailed around Europe during the summer and South America in the winter. Commencing in 2012, the cruise ship was based year-round in Rotterdam.[5]

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 it's namesake city one final time as the Rotterdam on 11 August 2020.[8] A new MS Rotterdam (VII) debuted in July 2021.

In March 2020, Rotterdam was dispatched to transport medical supplies to sister vessel Zaandam after four passengers died, and passengers and crew of Zaandam were found to have symptoms associated with the COVID-19 virus.[9][10] Passengers found not to have COVID-19 symptoms were transferred to Rotterdam to reduce the spread of infection during Zaandam's return journey to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On 27 March, both vessels were briefly denied transit through the Panama Canal after Panamanian authorities claimed Zaandam posed an infection risk to the local community.[11] Transit was later granted by Panamanian authorities on 28 March.

Rotterdam followed Zaandam on its way to Florida. An unstated number of asymptomatic passengers from Zaandam were transferred to the second vessel on 28 March 2020.[12][13][14] At that time, the crew of Zaandam included four physicians and four nurses while Rotterdam's roster included two physicians and four nurses.[15]

As of 30 March 2020, Holland America had not received permission to dock either vessel at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale as planned. According to news reports, the city's mayor, Dean Trantalis, "said he didn't want the ship to dock near his city, at least without extensive precautions" and a briefing by the federal government.[16][17] By 31 March, Rotterdam had taken almost 1,400 people from Zaandam; none had flu-like symptoms. That left 450 passengers and 602 crew members on its sister ship with nearly 200 exhibiting symptoms.[18]

News reports on 2 April stated that both ships would be allowed to dock at Port Everglades that afternoon. The cruise line was making arrangements for passengers from other countries to leave via chartered aircraft.[19]

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.[20] Shortly after making its maiden trip,[21] Borealis suffered a technical issue that caused the cancellation of a cruise as the ship remained in Portsmouth.[22]