Entertainment icon Oprah Winfrey named Holland America Line's
newest ship on Feb. 2 at a ceremony at Port Everglades, calling a cruise on the
Nieuw Statendam "one of the best things I've ever done."
The christening followed a week-long "Girlfriends
Getaway" cruise in the Caribbean led by Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, editor-at-large
for O, The Oprah Magazine and co-anchor of "CBS This Morning." Holland
America forged a partnership with O that brings various features of the
magazine aboard HAL ships.
Oprah first cruised with HAL for two days in Alaska in July
2017. On the Caribbean cruise, she witnessed more than 2,000 women onboard
participating in book chats and group yoga on the beach.
"It turned out to be one of the best things I've ever
done," Winfrey said during the christening, which was transmitted live on
Facebook.
The 2,666-passenger Nieuw Statendam has been sailing since
December but wasn't formally named until after the Oprah cruise. It will do
Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale until April 21 when it transitions to
Northern Europe for the summer.