HAL's Koningsdam floats out at Fincantieri's Marghera
PHOTO: FILIPPO VINARDI
Coin ceremony - HAL's Keith Taylor with Koningsdam madrina Tineke Schröder
Holland America Line's Koningsdam was floated out of its drydock and transferred to the outfitting dock at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard.
Construction and interior furnishing will continue leading up to the delivery, scheduled for March 31, 2016.
A coin ceremony also was held in late February when Tineke Schröder, wife of the founder of Dutch airline Martinair and a member of Holland America Line’s Mariner Society, served as the ship’s madrina.
Two gold coins were welded to the forward mast of the ship by Schröder, shipyard director Antonio Quintano and Keith Taylor, evp fleet operations for HAL.
The gold coins bear the image of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. Koning means 'king' in Dutch, and the ship’s name pays honor to the first king of the Netherlands in over a century.
Koningsdam is scheduled to sail its premier voyage April 8, 2016.
MS Koningsdam is the first HAL ship to have cabins designed specifically for families, although Lynn Narroway – HAL’s UK and Ireland MD – pointed out that all 15 of the company’s fleet were family-friendly.MS Koningsdam will be a very different ship from its predecessors with a design the company hopes will set the standard for the next generation of cruise passengers.
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