Holland America Line Welcomes A New Class To Its Fleet

Holland America Lines announced that the first two ships of its new five-ship 85,000-ton Vista Series class will be named ms Zuiderdam and ms Oosterdam. The vessels' namesake, which are derived from the south and east "Vista" points on the compass, follow the "-dam" naming tradition that the company has followed since the late 19th century.

The new Vista Series class, which was unveiled at the Sea Trade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami Beach, Fla. on March 6, represents the ships' forward-looking design and the future direction of the company.

The 1,848-passenger ships, which are under construction by Fincantieri are scheduled for delivery in September 2002, July 2003, January 2004, September 2004 and May 2005 - are expected to increase Holland America's lower berth capacity by 9,240.

Measuring 951-ft. (289.8 m) the Vista Class ships will boast exterior elevators located on both sides of the vessel and vertically transversing 10 decks, providing passengers with panoramic sea views. The vessels' propulsion system includes a full-scale diesel-electric power plant, backed up by a gas turbine as an additional power source, giving the vessel a capability to operate on either diesel or gas turbine power.