SEATTLE, March 13 -- When Holland America Line's new flagship,
ms Rotterdam VI, set sail in 1997, she will set new standards in ship design,
much the way her predecessor, ss Rotterdam V, did when she entered service in
1959. She'll be one of the fastest cruise ships afloat; she'll have a
specialty restaurant reminiscent of an elegant Venetian dining room, a lounge
that evokes the seafaring heritage of Holland America, and a special concierge
deck for suite passengers.

Rotterdam VI, currently under construction at Fincantieri shipyard in
Marghera, Italy, also will include many features that have proven popular with
passengers on the line's recent newbuilds: the ms Statendam, ms Maasdam, ms
Ryndam, and the ms Veendam, scheduled to debut this May.

"The interior designs of the new Rotterdam are an evolution of what we have
created for the other four ships," says F.C.J. Dingemans, principal architect
for the interior design of Rotterdam VI. Dingemans, of the firm VFD Interiors
BV, in Utrecht Netherlands, also designed the interiors for Holland America's
four Statendam-class ships. "The basic layout of the public rooms is similar,
and passengers will immediately recognize that they are on a Holland America
ship."

In other ways, Rotterdam VI will represent a new era in ship design. "Since
this is going to be the flagship, you have to make a distinction from what has
gone before," explains Dingemans. "You need a different atmosphere. We're
incorporating more use of woods and darker colors, to give the ship a more
classic feel." As he did on the previous ships, Dingemans will commission
world-class artists to create works specifically for the new vessel, and will
assemble museum-quality antiques that reflect the Dutch maritime tradition of
Holland America Line. "On this ship we will expand the range of artifacts to
include things that might have been collected by 17th Century mariners sailing
around the world for the Dutch East and West Indies Companies."

Dingemans points out that the current flagship, Rotterdam V, to be retired
in 1997, caused a sensation when she first set sail nearly 40 years ago.
"Although today we think of her as a classic liner, when she was built, her
design was considered very unusual, very progressive," he says. "Like the
Rotterdam V, the Rotterdam VI will be breaking new ground."

Rotterdam VI will differ from the four Statendam-class ships in several
ways. Because the ship is designed to go faster than the other, the hull is
longer. Instead of carrying 1,266 passengers, the larger vessel has a
capacity of 1,320 passengers. And, instead of two staircases, Rotterdam VI
will have three. "Passengers will never be more than about 40 meters from a
staircase," says Dingemans. "That will make it very easy to get from your
cabin to any of the public rooms."

Outside, the lines of the ship will be less angular. "The edges will be
softer, more rounded," Dingemans explains. "And like the Rotterdam V, she
will have, not one smokestack, but two -- a double funnel at the aft."

Dingemans plans to incorporate other elements of Rotterdam V in the interior
design of the new vessel. "There is some inspiration from the old Rotterdam,"
he says. "We haven't copied the styles, but some of the rooms will have an
atmosphere similar to rooms on the old ship."

On the back wall of the new ship's two-level dining room, for example, will
be a giant mural reminiscent of the wall treatment in Rotterdam V's Ritz
Carlton room. "A Dutch artist Klaas Posthuma is creating a large painting
with mountains, birds, clouds," says Dingemans. "It will remind people who
come onboard of the room on the old Rotterdam." The dining room is located
aft on the Promenade and Upper Promenade Decks, and the ceiling will be a
creation of Venetian glass artist, Luciano Vistosi, who also designed the
monumental glass sculptures in the Maasdam and Veendam atriums.

The Ambassador's Bar, on the Upper Promenade Deck, will also provide a link
to Holland America's past. "The dance floor will be in the style of the Ritz
Carlton room," Dingemans explains. "And the ceiling will be similar to one on
the old Nieuw Amsterdam. The whole atmosphere will be nautical; the woodwork
will resemble the planking of old ships. It will have the atmosphere of a
friendly harbor pub."

Also in the room will be replicas of items from the old Holland America
building in Rotterdam, a copy of the sculpture of Henry Hudson's ship, the
Half Moon, that crowns the roof, and a replica of an ornate lamp post that
stands outside the building, which is now the Hotel New York. The
Ambassador's Bar has a dance floor and bandstand, and the piano is on a
turntable, with a movable wall that allows for different configuration, from a
large room with dancing, to a small piano bar.

New on Rotterdam VI will be a specialty Italian restaurant on the Promenade
Deck. Guests can dine here by reservation, at no extra charge. Dingemans'
plans call for an opulent room reminiscent of a baroque villa in Venice. "The
basic color is black," he explains, "with gold-framed mirrors in the ceiling,
black and gold columns along the walls, and glass Venetian candelabras in the
alcoves." The dining room will seat about 90 and will be divided into three
intimate areas. An innovative table design with a movable top will allow
people sitting in the banquettes to get in and out of their seats easily and
still sit at a comfortable distance when eating.

The alternative restaurant is not the only innovation on Rotterdam VI. For
the first time on any cruise ship, guests who book suites will have a private
concierge. Navigation Deck 7 will be a dedicated deck of 40 suites. Two will
be for handicapped passengers, and four will be penthouse suites. Each
penthouse suite will have a large dining area with a separate steward's
entrance, and separate living, bedroom and dressing areas.

All suite guests will have access to a private concierge area at the center
of the deck. Here they will find a desk where they may settle accounts, book
shore excursions and have special requests filled. The private lounge will be
accessible by key card and in addition to being a place where suite guests may
read the latest newspapers and have coffee, it can be made into a private
function room. Special glass walls will permit views out into the corridor
unless privacy is needed for a private function. Then an electrical current
is applied to high-tech glass turning it opaque. Decor in the concierge
lounge will make use of teak made into lattice patterns reminiscent of hatch
covers on the old Rotterdam I and II. "It's a very yacht-like feel," says
Dingemans.

Another new area on Rotterdam VI will be aft on Observatory Deck 9. On
cruises where a lot of families are expected, it will be the Children's
Playroom, complete with craft-making areas, a teen disco and video games. On
cruises with few children, the area can be a relaxing place for morning coffee
or afternoon snacks.

Rotterdam VI will also have new incarnations of rooms that have become
favorite gathering places for passengers on other Holland America ships. As
on the Statendam-class ships, Rotterdam VI will have a three-story atrium, but
its shape will be oval instead of octagonal. The popular Lido Restaurant will
be larger, and will feature multi-colored Majolica tiles. Susanna Holt, who
sculpted the bronze dolphins that cavort near the Lido Deck pool on the other
ships, will create a family of sea lions for Rotterdam VI.

The Crow's Nest, forward on Observatory Deck 9, will be a multi-purpose room
that includes a Tea Area, decorated with porcelain and silver that might have
been brought to Holland in the Golden Age of Dutch shipping, and a Captain's
Area, with leather chairs and old ship models. At the center of the room will
be a circular bar and a dance floor that at night can become the disco. "That
wonderful view out front is the main thing," says Dingemans. "And the color
scheme is geared to enhance, not detract from that view -- light colors in the
Tea Area, burgundy and red in the Captain's Area, darker colors in the bar."

Another favorite room on Holland America ships is the Explorers' Lounge. As
on the Statendam-class vessels, the Explorers' Lounge on Rotterdam VI will be
outside the upper level of the dining room. "The lounge will stress the
maritime heritage of not only the Netherlands, but also Italy, which was also
a major trading presence in the 17th Century," says Dingemans. "The large
mural along the side of the room will be a nautical scene of Renaissance
Venice; like something Canaletto might have painted." The Explorers' Lounge
on Rotterdam VI will be larger than on other ships and will have a dance floor
made of crushed Italian marble in a floral pattern.

At the forward end of the Promenade and Upper Promenade Decks, the
two-level, main show lounge will incorporate the latest in sound and lighting
technology. The stage will not only rotate but have hydraulic lifts and there
will be a separate dance floor in the center of the room. "Hanging from the
ceiling will be huge lamps, like giant, upside-down umbrellas, etched in gold,
Italian designs," says Dingemans. "And along the sides of the rooms will be
gold and black statues holding huge candelabras. The carpet will be in shades
of deep red, burgundy and orange, and the theater curtain will be of
hand-painted satin in shades of maroon, gold and black. Everything in the
room speaks of the opulent age of seafaring."