An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes. Only one ocean liner remains in service today.
Holland America Line is a US-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Swedish American Line was a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika and began ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York in 1915. In 1925 the company changed its name to Svenska Amerika Linien / Swedish American Line.
MS Oosterdam is a cruise ship of Holland America Line, a division of Carnival Corporation & plc. As the second addition to Holland America's Vista class of ships, Oosterdam is sister to MS Noordam, MS Westerdam, and MS Zuiderdam. The ship's name is derived from the Dutch translation for the eastern compass point, and is pronounced "OH-ster-dam."
The fifth SS Rotterdam, also known as "The Grande Dame", is a former ocean liner and cruise ship, and has been a hotel ship in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 2010. She was launched by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and was completed the following summer.
MS Westerdam is a Vista-class cruise ship owned by Holland America Line. She is the third ship of the class to be operated by the line, as well as being the third ship to bear the name Westerdam. Her sister ships are Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, and Noordam. The beginning of the four ships' names represent the four directions of the compass in Dutch.
MS Homeric was a cruise ship built in 1986 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, West Germany as Homeric for Home Lines, and their last newbuild to remain in active service. In 1988 she was sold to Holland America Line, renamed Westerdam, and in 1990 lengthened by 36.9 m at Meyer Werft. In 2002 she was transferred to the fleet of Costa Cruises and renamed Costa Europa. In April 2010 she was taken on a ten-year charter by Thomson Cruises, under the name Thomson Dream.
RMS Empress of Britain was a transatlantic ocean liner built by Fairfield Shipbuilding at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland in 1955-1956 for Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP). This ship — the third of three CP vessels to be named Empress of Britain — regularly traversed the trans-Atlantic route between Canada and Europe until 1964, completing 123 voyages under the Canadian Pacific flag.
The TS/S Stefan Batory was an ocean liner built in the Netherlands in 1952. It was operated by Holland America Lines and later Polish Ocean Lines. It remained in service until 1988 and was scrapped in 2000 in Turkey.
MS Klipfontein was a Dutch ocean liner launched in March 1939 and delivered 29 July intended for South African service. Declaration of war in Europe, including Britain and South Africa declaring war on Germany, resulted in the ship being transferred to service between the Dutch East Indies and the west coast of North America. After the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1939, with the Dutch government in exile in London, the ship supported the Allied war effort. After entry of the United States into the war the ship was operated by Dutch agents of the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) from February 1942 to February 1946 as a troopship from the U.S. West Coast to Pacific war zones.
The MS ThomsonCelebration was a cruise ship owned by TUI UK, and last operated by their United Kingdom-based Marella Cruises. She was built in 1984 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France for Holland America Line (HAL) as MS Noordam. On 29 April 2020, Marella announced that the ship would be retired from the fleet and sold for scrap. The ship beached for scrap in Aliaga, Turkey in 2022.
SS The Emerald was a cruise ship owned by Louis Cruise Lines. She was built in 1958 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock company in Newport News, Virginia, United States, for the Grace Line, as the ocean liner Santa Rosa. Between 1992 and 1995, she sailed for Regency Cruises as Regent Rainbow and between 1997 and 2008, she sailed for Thomson Cruises as The Emerald. Before retiring in 2009, she was the last passenger ship built at a U.S. shipyard that was still in active service.
A number of ships of the Holland America Line have been named Statendam, the name of an old dike on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee:
SS Noordam was a steam ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1901 and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1928–29. Holland America Line owned her throughout her career. From 1923 to 1924 Swedish American Line chartered her and renamed her Kungsholm.
USS Rijndam (ID–2505) was the Holland America Line (HAL) ocean liner Rijndam, also spelt Ryndam, which was launched in Ireland in 1901 and scrapped in the Netherlands in 1929. The US requisitioned her as the United States Navy troopship USS Rijndam from 1918 until 1919. She was the first of four Holland America Line ships to be called Ryndam.
MS Marella Spirit was a cruise ship owned by Holland America Line and operated under charter by the United Kingdom-based Marella Cruises. She was built in 1983 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France for Holland America Line as MS Nieuw Amsterdam. Between 2000 and 2001 she sailed for United States Lines, a subsidiary of American Classic Voyages, as MS Patriot. In 2002 she returned under Holland America Line ownership and reverted to the name Nieuw Amsterdam, but was not used in active service. During the same year she was chartered to Louis Cruise Lines, who in turn sub-chartered the ship to Thomson Cruises, with whom she entered service under MS Thomson Spirit in 2003.
MS Italia was a cruise ship built in Italy in 1967. She sailed in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Pacific under various names and operators, and was scrapped in May 2012.
Regina is the name of several ships.
