Yard number 1296 Acquired 26 November 1988 Launched May 1988 Builder Turku | Christened 8 January 1989 Length 204 m Beam 32 m | |
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Name 1988–1999 Royal Viking Sun
1999–2002 Seabourn Sun
2002–present Prinsendam Operator 1988–1994 Royal Viking Line
1994–1998 Cunard Line
1998–2002 Seabourn Cruise Line
2002– Holland America Line Port of registry 1988–1999 Nassau, Bahamas
1999–2002 Oslo, Norway
2002–2013 Rotterdam, Netherlands | ||
MS Prinsendam (formerly Seabourn Sun and Royal Viking Sun) is a cruise ship for Holland America Line and is nicknamed the Elegant Explorer. She was launched in 1988 as Royal Viking Sun for the Royal Viking Line, and was renamed "Seabourn Sun" when Seabourn Cruise Line acquired the ship in 1999. Shortly after, in 2002, Seabourn wished to concentrate on smaller vessels. So, in 2002, they transferred the ship to Holland America Line, where she was renamed the Prinsendam.
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Early career
Launched in 1988 as Royal Viking Sun for the Royal Viking Line this vessel quickly became renowned for her exquisite service and loyal passenger following. She became a popular addition to the fleet of Global Cruisers employed in Royal Viking service.
Cunard Line career
Cunard purchased Royal Viking Sun (and the Royal Viking brand) as the failing Royal Viking Line ceased operations in the mid-1990s. Opting to keep the ship's name as is, they placed her into the newly formed Cunard Royal Viking division and painted her funnel in Cunard colors. This 5-plus star ship was rated the finest vessel afloat for most of her life with Cunard.
Royal Viking Sun undertook World Voyages as Cunard's Global Roamer, and was a popular and highly sought after ship for passengers and crew alike.
In 1999 Cunard and Seabourn were merged by parent company Carnival Corporation. It was decided to move Royal Viking Sun to Seabourn, and after an extensive refit she emerged as the Seabourn Sun. In 2002 she undertook her last cruise for Seabourn, a circumnavigation of South America.
Holland America Line career
After another extensive refit in 2002, Seabourn Sun re-emerged as the Prinsendam for Holland America Line - another division of the Carnival Corporation. She has remained as Prinsendam to this day. She is dubbed the Elegant Explorer as she is much smaller in size and passenger capacity and generally offers boutique, different destination cruises within Holland America Line.
On 1 February 2007, Prinsendam was hit by two 12-metre (39 ft) tall rogue waves near Cape Horn. There were around 40 injuries, with some requiring hospitalisation.
Prinsendam currently does multiple Grand Voyages every year, currently (as of 2011) she does a South American/Antarctica in Jan/Feb and Mediterranean/Black Sea in Mar/Apr. The Prinsendam is one of 2 Holland America Line ships that visit Antarctica, the other one is the ms Zaandam
Prinsendam is one of only a handful of cruise ships that can transit the Kiel Canal, due to her low height above the waterline.
On 22 March 2012 Prinsendam, was en route to Portimao, Portugal, when she received a distress call from a Portuguese fishing boat with eight people aboard. The boat was sinking and the crew was abandoning ship. When the ship arrived, the fishing boat crew was entering a life raft. The Portuguese Coast Guard directed Prinsendam to pick up the fishermen and stand by for a helicopter to take the eight men to shore.