MS Zuiderdam

MS Zuiderdam is a Vista-class cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line (HAL). It is the lead ship of the Vista-class vessels, so named for the extensive use of glass in their superstructure, and is sister to three other HAL ships, Oosterdam, Westerdam, and Noordam. The ship's name is a portmanteau of the Dutch word zuid, meaning 'south,' and the suffix -dam, a common Dutch placename suffix used in the names of all Holland America Line ships. The ship shares similar exterior dimensions with Carnival Cruise Lines' and Costa Cruises' Spirit class. Cunard Line's Queen Victoria is an enlarged version of the same design, as is HAL's Signature class. As with all Vista-class ships, Zuiderdam is equipped with a diesel-electric power plant and an Azipod propulsion system, and eighty-five percent of her staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandahs. Her art collection carries a Venetian theme throughout the ship; the most dazzling features figures in the time of Carnival in Venice, created by Daniel Ogier.