What Fred did to the former Amsterdam and Rotterdam

[OlsSalt]

Renamed, redecorated and some re-purposed changes to two of our old favorites:

 

The former HAL Amsterdam - now Fred Olsen Bolette:   https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/bolette

 

The former HAL Rotterdam - now Fred Olsen Borealis:  https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/borealis

 

Oh, the places these two grand ladies took us.

Edited March 19, 2022 by OlsSalt

[Tampa Girl]

Ah.., memories!  I do miss the Amsterdam, and she looks so spiffy now!  Thanks for posting these pictures.  Have you cruised on ether of them yet?

[jeh10641]

21 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Renamed, redecorated and some re-purposed changes to two of our old favorites:

 

The former HAL Amsterdam - now Fred Olsen Bolette:   https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/bolette

 

The former HAL Rotterdam - now Fred Olsen Borealis:  https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/borealis

 

Oh, the places these two grand ladies took us.

Wow! Unrecognizable.

[crusinbanjo]

Very recognizable to me, always have loved the S Class ships……..  they look in great shape?

[TiogaCruiser]

13 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

Very recognizable to me, always have loved the S Class ships……..  they look in great shape?

The Amsterdam and Rotterdam were Rs

[crusinbanjo]

6 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

The Amsterdam and Rotterdam were Rs

Oops, I stand corrected, but they still are quite recognizable on the interior photos 

[rkacruiser]

4 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

Oops, I stand corrected, but they still are quite recognizable on the interior photos 

 

100% agree!  They look beautiful.  Fred has done a good job with them.  Many fond memories; if I had the opportunity to sail on them again, I would not hesitate to do so.  

[JHUNTGOLF]

I went on the Rotterdam V in January 1977.  It started sailing in 1958. I’m getting ready to sail on April 3 on the latest Rotterdam ship.  In 1977, it was a much smaller ship at some 38,000 tons.  Here’s some pictures that may bring back memories to some.  
 

John

 

 

[Sir PMP]

Wow, they would still be a great part of our fleet...

[OlsSalt]

The Chinese Tea Room threw me the most - finally figured it must be part of the Explorers Lounge, which now appears to be two separate venues. Interesting to also see what former HAL artifacts were kept - like the Xian terra cotta warrior models.

And the "library" book shelves appear to have been downsized to only the far end part of the previous space.

 

The very large portrait of the lemons in the Rotterdam stairwell leading to the Lido was a favorite of mine. I wonder if it is still there?

[OlsSalt]

Oh dear, I see the silver full pike naked ladies still grace the Bollette "Neptune Lounge" (Showroom) - never my favorite decor item, right up there with the infamous Blue Boy benches on the Oosterdam. But the ladies continue to reign in their Las Vegas sort of way on Bollette. 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, JHUNTGOLF said:

Here’s some pictures that may bring back memories to some.  

 

Indeed, they do.  There will never be a HAL ship like the Grand Dame Rotterdam V.  

 

You sailed in the same era when HAL was trying to adjust from being "HAL to Holland America Cruises" as did I.  I witnessed the transition of crew nationalities.  It was a successful transition from HAL to HAC and then back to HAL.  Some rough seas at time for the guests during that time, but, HAL still delivers a very good cruise experience.  

[OlsSalt]

Some of the name changes on the Bolette (Amsterdam):

Restaurants and Dining:

 

Crows Nest = The Observatory

Main Dining Room =The Bloomsbury and Terrace (Upper and lower floors I guess)

Lido = The View
Dive-Inn = The PoolsideCafe

Pinnacle = Colors and Taste (pan-Asian)

Canaletto = Vasco (European explorer heritage)

Premium Tea on certain days - 11.99 Pound Sterling surcharge

Room service: Continental breakfast only; soup, sandwiches and dessert for lunch and dinner

[foodsvcmgr]

Since Fred got a great deal (scrap price with 10 year financing from Carnival Corp.),

it’s nice to see they invested in some interior upgrades.

I would certainly be interested in trying them.

[OlsSalt]

15 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Since Fred got a great deal (scrap price with 10 year financing from Carnival Corp.),

it’s nice to see they invested in some interior upgrades.

I would certainly be interested in trying them.

 

They actually show men in black tie when describing their dress codes - for "couple of formal nights."

[AV8rix]

Nice to see that they kept the astrolabe on the former Amsterdam.  I always liked that.  Wonder if it still chimes on the hour?

[ON cruiser]

While Fred is attractive in many ways, the deal-breaker for me is that smoking is permitted on balconies (per the corporate website). When HAL finally got away from that, my wife and I cheered. No desire to experience that again

 

And no, I do not want to open the Pandora's box of a smoking thread! Just passing on this factual information--with which all can make their own informed decision 

[TiogaCruiser]

Bolette is lovely. I’m hoping to try Fred.

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting, we did two cruises on the Amsterdam.

[sagavista]

I wonder what happened to the Stephen Card paintings on both HAL ships?  

[Sir PMP]

9 hours ago, ON cruiser said:

While Fred is attractive in many ways, the deal-breaker for me is that smoking is permitted on balconies (per the corporate website). When HAL finally got away from that, my wife and I cheered. No desire to experience that again

 

And no, I do not want to open the Pandora's box of a smoking thread! Just passing on this factual information--with which all can make their own informed decision 

But Hal is now allowing smoking in the casino again.

[OlsSalt]

Be sure to check out  the menus posted in the dining and restaurant links now available in "our" former HAL ships - very different from the familiar HAL offerings in these revamped locations - much more British - particularly the Dive-In aka Poolside Bar.  

 

Turning the Pinnacle meat-heavy menu restaurant into a pan-Asian venue looks like a worthy improvement. Limited room service menu, not so much. 

 

New food adventures certainly is part of the travel experience.   But those who have developed certain HAL ships food loyalties will need to prepare for the change. 

[JudithLynne]

My DH and I would love to have a HAL ship that would again do the 14 day Alaska cruise from Seattle.  We have done that cruise three times, twice on the Amsterdam, and without hesitation would do it again.

Edited March 21, 2022 by JudithLynne

[fsdj1097]

I was looking at a webcam of Akureyri, Iceland, just last week, and saw a very familiar ship exterior in port.  After looking at Marine Traffic website, it listed the ship as Borealis.

[RobTheGob]

We did 34 days on the Amsterdam in the fall of 2019 - I *loved* the ship. So many little private hiding spots - I especially liked the outside deck below the bridge and the many loungers across the aft of the ship. I really liked zig-zagging through bulkheads to get to areas that I'm used to being restricted areas on other ships.

 

I was *very* disappointed when I heard it was being sold...