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Oprah, Godmother of Nieuw Statendam


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Very disappointed in HALs choice. This represents only a branding tie-in, nothing more.

 

Holland America is celebrating their 145th anniversary this year. Surely a member of the Dutch monarchy would have been

a more appropriate and meaningful choice.

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Does it really matter ??? Can anyone here actually name the godfathers/godmothers of the other HAL ships without looking them up online ??? :rolleyes: If you can, I would rather not sit with you at dinner but would love to be part of your trivia team ;p

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Does it really matter ??? Can anyone here actually name the godfathers/godmothers of the other HAL ships without looking them up online ??? :rolleyes: If you can, I would rather not sit with you at dinner but would love to be part of your trivia team ;p

 

When you spend almost 500 days on HAL ships, you start noticing these things. Sit with me at dinner and we can talk about travel and all the wonderful places HAL ships have taken me. And share a prayer with me that she may not totally self-destruct in the near future under these new management changes.

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Very disappointed in HALs choice. This represents only a branding tie-in, nothing more.

 

Holland America is celebrating their 145th anniversary this year. Surely a member of the Dutch monarchy would have been

a more appropriate and meaningful choice.

 

I see your point re choosing a Dutch royal, but Koningsdam was named in honor of King Willem-Alexander. So that's something. Given that Oprah is a self-made billionaire, and in so many ways is an idealization of the American dream, you could almost call her American "royalty." I think HAL made an inspired choice. And all godmothers/fathers are ultimately marketing decisions.

Edited by Cruiser Bruiser
Clarity.
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I see your point, but Koningsdam was named in honor of King Willem-Alexander. So that's something. Given that Oprah is a self-made billionaire, and in so many ways is an idealization of the American dream, you could almost call her American "royalty."

 

Other self-made, self-promotional billionaires come to mind representing the American Dream. The list is endless.

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I'd expected to have a copy of Oprah's O Magazine in my stateroom on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month, but it didn't happen.

 

 

Don't know if they had her favorite things in the shop. With the ship's design putting Explorations Cafe and the "Library" in the Crow's nest, I had no reason to visit that part of the ship.

 

 

I think the library has been shrunk to a couple of shelves so it doesn't conflict w/ Oprah's book club.

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I think HAL made an inspired choice. And all godmothers/fathers are ultimately marketing decisions.

 

This inspired choice = a business deal.

 

From an official HAL blog (April 2018), Queen Maxima was named godmother of the Koningsdam, and apparently not the king (her husband) you referred to.

It goes on to say, "Members of the Dutch Royal Family have launched 11 Holland America Line ships. Most recently, then-Princess Máxima christened ms Nieuw Amsterdam in 2010 and then-Queen Beatrix served as ms Eurodam’s godmother in 2008. Statendam III in 1929 was launched by Prince Hendrik and Nieuw Amsterdam II in 1937 by Queen Wilhelmina. Then-Princess Beatrix named Statendam IV in 1957 and Prinses Margriet in 1960. Rotterdam V was launched in 1958 by Queen Juliana. Princess Margriet dedicated Prinsendam in 1972, Nieuw Amsterdam II in 1983, ms Rotterdam VI in 1997 and ms Oosterdam in 2003."

It's a grand tradition HAL should have continued for the NS.

JMHO.

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And yet this one (i.e. Oprah) is unacceptable for some reason?

 

Why are you reading that into this statement? She is no more or less acceptable than any other self-promotional self-created billionaire ...or the Olsen Twins. Ship "godmothers" are a curious sea lore. The only remaining intrigue will be the official photo - the airbrushed, bewigged smiling one or the grim, hair pulled back, real one.

 

Long before this current "O" marketing, there were comments about Debbie Reynolds being a ship godmother since there did not seem to be any connection between her and the cruise industry. Google "ship godmothers" for more background information on this hoary sea tradition. I think many of us got used to seeing female Dutch royalty as ship godmothers so it was always curious what led to female American celebrities being invited to share this place of honor too.

 

Let's hope Oprah remains committed to being politically neutra,l if she is expected to continue in this role as the public face for HAL.

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Very disappointed in HALs choice. This represents only a branding tie-in, nothing more.

 

Holland America is celebrating their 145th anniversary this year. Surely a member of the Dutch monarchy would have been

a more appropriate and meaningful choice.

 

 

Actually a fairly logical choice, given the HAL/Oprah co-branding. And certainly not a precedent setter: was there any sweat about June Allyson, Debbie Reynolds, or Joan Lunden - to name a few non-House of Orange sponsors?

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Actually a fairly logical choice, given the HAL/Oprah co-branding. And certainly not a precedent setter: was there any sweat about June Allyson, Debbie Reynolds, or Joan Lunden - to name a few non-House of Orange sponsors?

 

All those happened well before my time on HAL, so no comment - the only recent new ships to the HAL family have all had Dutch royalty godmothers. (Eurodam - Nieuw Amsterdam, Konigsdam) I assumed that was the Dutch flagged HAL tradition.

 

Still scratching my head about the Olson Twins however. Oprah was probably a given under this "O" promotion marketing and most likely written into her franchise contract with HAL up front. And there was the Exxon oil tanker named the Condolezza Rice which was an equal curiosity for someone who later became a high government official. Any ships out there who want to use my name?

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What's wrong with being a self-created billionaire? Isn't that the American dream? Born into poverty in rural Mississippi and made it out and then some.

 

Roz

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Probably not; but what arrangements had you with Diamond Crystal and Morton’s?

 

Who .... Lil Ol me? Yes, I am the perfect poster girl to stave off the Pakistani "Himalayan" salt incursions. Buy American, the salt of the earth or seas, whatever. And I will go with the airbrushed version of me, thank you very much.

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Why are you reading that into this statement? She is no more or less acceptable than any other self-promotional self-created billionaire ...or the Olsen Twins. Ship "godmothers" are a curious sea lore. The only remaining intrigue will be the official photo - the airbrushed, bewigged smiling one or the grim, hair pulled back, real one..

 

Comments like this and you wonder why others may be reading something more into what you say?

 

Wow...

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Comments like this and you wonder why others may be reading something more into what you say?

 

Wow...

 

For the record, I am no fan of Oprah, her politics or her New Age hokum. She was a poor choice to be the new public face for Holland America on those grounds. She is also a part-time neighbor in my community. We have a different picture of her, than the one held her media fan base. Just like Tina Fey's exaggerated representation of Sarah Palin, I have a hard time getting SNL Maya Rudolph's exaggerated version of Oprah out of my mind too. Yech.

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For the record, I am no fan of Oprah, her politics or her New Age hokum. She was a poor choice to be the new public face for Holland America on those grounds. She is also a part-time neighbor in my community. We have a different picture of her, than the one held her media fan base. Just like Tina Fey's exaggerated representation of Sarah Palin, I have a hard time getting SNL Maya Rudolph's exaggerated version of Oprah out of my mind too. Yech.

 

Thank you for confirming your bias and answering your own rhetorical question asked to me. It does get a little frustrating, though, when a vocal minority insists on imposing its negativity onto this particular topic. Clearly this marketing relationship between HAL and Oprah is working for both parties. I, for one, see it as a positive. As the airlines say, "we recognize that you have a choice..." Perhaps HAL is no longer yours.

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