ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- The horn of Holland America Line's Rotterdam blasted through the city that bears its name moments after a bottle of Champagne crashed into its hull.
The bottle collided with the center of the "O" in "Rotterdam" painted on HAL's seventh ship of that name, concluding the line's first naming ceremony since the pandemic halted cruising operations.
However, the lingering effects of the pandemic were still evident. Not only had the ship re-imposed a mask mandate after a flare-up of positive Covid-19 cases on a previous sailing, but HAL president Gus Antorcha was absent after testing positive.
If the last two years of the pandemic have taught Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald anything, it's to adapt and thrive in uncertainty, he said at the naming ceremony on the ship's indoor World Stage surrounded by a 270-degree wraparound LED screen that changed colors and images with each speaker's address.
"We will never be able to go back to exactly the way it was. We have all changed. Our company has changed. Our industry has changed. The world has changed. But together, we are bringing the world back to joyful travel experiences while improving the quality of life for our community partners," he said.
The Rotterdam was built during the pandemic, with the construction overseen by Capt. Werner Timmers, who spent his early career on the fifth Rotterdam, where he met his wife. HAL took delivery of the Rotterdam last July, and the ship departed Amsterdam on its maiden voyage on Oct. 20. The ship spent its inaugural season cruising the Caribbean.
Ten months later, the ship sailed into the port at Rotterdam for its naming on May 30 by godmother Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, who has named four other Holland America Line ships.
Jan Swartz, president of Holland America Group, said it was important to christen the ship in Rotterdam.
"We at Holland America Line still consider Rotterdam our spiritual home. This is where it all started," Swartz said.
Nearby in the city is the Volendam, a HAL ship chartered by the city of Rotterdam to house refugees who fled Ukraine when Russia invaded. The Volendam will remain in Rotterdam until mid-September.
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb took his opportunity on the stage to stress the purpose of life on Earth.
"We're not here to kill each other. We're here to celebrate life and discover joy, and you bring another dimension with Rotterdam, again to celebrate life and to bring joy. Take care of your people take care of the ship and take care of our city," he said.
The ceremony included speeches from people whose lives were touched by the Rotterdam, including crew member Arnell Sotto, whose late father worked as a tailor on the fifth Rotterdam. After resisting a career working on a ship like his father, Sotto eventually relented, then found a home on the Rotterdam with his father. It was then, he said, that he began to realize the sense of family his father had found at sea was bigger than their own.
"What makes me most proud is what my father taught me: to love this job, to be generous in life, to be serious in work and to be part of a family," Sotto said.