It’s an incongruous sight. High above an Italian shipyard, a New York taxi dangles from a crane as it is loaded on board a ship. The yellow cab is not being transported home on a freighter though. This one is destined to become a decorative feature on Holland America’s newest cruise ship, Nieuw Amsterdam.
As befits its name, the theme for the 86,000-ton vessel’s interior decor is New York (Nieuw Amsterdam was the original name for the settlement on Manhattan island) and the authentic 1981 Checker cab is being placed in the teenagers-only Loft club.
The ship’s main restaurant will be the Manhattan Dining Room, and the atrium art is inspired by skyscrapers. Launching later this year, it will be the fourth ship to carry the name.
The first Nieuw Amsterdam was in service from 1906 to 1932 and was powered by both sail and steam. At just 17,149 tons she carried 2,886 passengers, 2,200 of them in third class – more than the new vessel’s capacity of 2,106.
Nieuw Amsterdam II joined the fleet in 1938 and its silhouette is still portrayed on the company’s logo. It was pressed into service during the second world war and carried nearly 400,000 troops on 44 voyages. After the war, she was rebuilt and carried celebrities such as Katherine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Spencer Tracey and Albert Schweitzer on Transatlantic crossings.
The 33,900-ton Nieuw Amsterdam III was launched in 1983, and since 2003 has been sailing as Thomson Spirit.
Externally similar to sister ship Eurodam – and Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth – the fourth Nieuw Amsterdam is scheduled to make her maiden voyage in July and will be sailing in Europe during summer 2010 and 2011.
The Loft area on HAL has to be the best teenage area Ive seen on a cruise ship – the ideal place for the teens to hang out and to give mum and dad (and the other pax) some peace!
Fantastic story, I would love to see the video of the car in the sea though and the panic face on catching the wrong route on driver’s face.