MS Volendam

Ordered on 12 July 1996, and was to be built by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali, at the Marghera shipyard in Venice, Italy. Volendam is a Rotterdam-class (R-class) cruise ship, a design that was based on the extended hull size of the previous S-class it shared with three sister ships in the Holland America Line fleet; Zaandam, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. She follows the Rotterdam, the lead ship of her class, as the second ship launched in 1999. Volendam is 237 m (778 ft) long, has a 32.3 m (106 ft) beam, and an 8.1 m (27 ft) draft. She has ten decks, and contains cabins for passengers (called staterooms) on six decks, with a ship's capacity of 1,432 guests. The cutting of the first steel commenced on July 1, 1997, followed by the assembling of the first modules on October 13, 1997. The keel was laid on February 27, 1998. and on 18 September 1998 the coin ceremony was performed by Mrs. Carla Cherubini Testa, wife of the 2nd. manager of Fincantieri.