Holland America Line makes donation to the Curaçao Heritage Foundation for its 150th anniversary

Published on January 30, 2024

Representatives of Holland America Line (HAL) and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, celebrated Holland America’s 150th anniversary.

Representatives of Holland America Line (HAL) and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, celebrated Holland America’s 150th anniversary in an exclusive manner by visiting several countries to honor the cruise line’s historic relationship with these countries.

In Curaçao, a special reception was held on Tuesday, January 30, on board the cruise ship Rotterdam, which was docked at the Megapier Tula, followed by a tour of the ship. This tour provided insightful information how Holland America operates on this ship concerning environmental aspects. After this, a lunch was provided, together with the President of Holland America Line, Mr. Gus Antorcha, the Senior Vice President Government and Destination Affairs of Carnival Corporation, Marie McKenzie, Captain Werner Timmers, the Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Ruisandro Cijntje and representatives of Curaçao Ports Authority (CPA), the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB), Customs and the media. During the reception, Mr. Antorcha explained the very close relationship that Holland America has with Curaçao and the commitments that this company has regarding the sustainability and benefits for Curaçao with regards to economic tourism.

Holland America also donated to the Curaçao Heritage Foundation for the preservation of the beautiful cultural heritage of Curaçao.
The Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Ruisandro Cijntje, in turn, congratulated Holland America on its 150th anniversary and thanked them for being a consistent partner of Curaçao. He explained that Curaçao receives approximately 30 calls annually with approximately 50,000 cruise passengers on board. “Holland America ships visit our island with a relatively high occupancy rate (the average occupancy in 2023 was 98%). We already have reservations for 2026 and trust to have a good collaboration with Holland America for many years to come,” Minister Cijntje indicated.
During the reception, an exchange of plaques took place between Mr. Antorcha and Minister Cijntje as a token of the good collaboration.