{"version":"1.9","identifier":"f51fd6c8-2855-42f5-b723-18e5115884e3","language":"en-US","title":"Holland America's new Oosterdam bar is built around a 3-meter glowing tulip and 200+ heritage pieces","layout":{"columns":7,"width":1024,"margin":32,"gutter":20},"componentLayouts":{"text":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"maximumContentWidth":720,"margin":{"top":12,"bottom":12}},"photo":{"columnStart":0,"columnSpan":7,"margin":{"top":20,"bottom":20}}},"componentTextStyles":{"default":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"textColor":"#171717"},"headline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue-Bold","fontSize":36,"lineHeight":42,"conditional":[{"conditions":{"maxViewportWidth":480},"fontSize":28,"lineHeight":34}]},"intro":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":20,"lineHeight":28,"textColor":"#555555"},"caption":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":19,"textColor":"#666666"},"byline":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":13,"lineHeight":20,"textColor":"#666666"},"body":{"fontName":"HelveticaNeue","fontSize":18,"lineHeight":29,"paragraphSpacingAfter":14,"linkStyle":{"textColor":"#00704a"}}},"metadata":{"canonicalURL":"https://crusiefrog.com/news/holland-america-bar-1873-oosterdam-tulip-crows-nest","datePublished":"2026-10-19T15:50:59.832539Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T15:52:20.972228Z","authors":["Patrick Karsh"],"excerpt":"Bar 1873, the first new venue from Holland America's Evolution refits, fills Oosterdam's two-story atrium with a giant lit tulip, heritage objects and live piano. The Crow's Nest gets more live music too.","thumbnailURL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/f51fd6c8-2855-42f5-b723-18e5115884e3/6825ea5e473ccaa5397f5645e19464d0.jpg","keywords":["ship"],"generatorName":"Frog News","generatorVersion":"1.0"},"components":[{"role":"title","text":"Holland America's new Oosterdam bar is built around a 3-meter glowing tulip and 200+ heritage pieces","textStyle":"headline","layout":"text"},{"role":"intro","text":"Bar 1873, the first new venue from Holland America's Evolution refits, fills Oosterdam's two-story atrium with a giant lit tulip, heritage objects and live piano. The Crow's Nest gets more live music too.","textStyle":"intro","layout":"text"},{"role":"byline","text":"By Patrick Karsh · Published October 19, 2026","textStyle":"byline","layout":"text"},{"role":"photo","URL":"https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/f51fd6c8-2855-42f5-b723-18e5115884e3/6825ea5e473ccaa5397f5645e19464d0.jpg","caption":"Artist's rendering of Bar 1873 in Oosterdam's atrium, with the illuminated tulip sculpture. Final design may vary. · Holland America Line","accessibilityCaption":"Artist's rendering of Bar 1873 in Oosterdam's atrium, with the illuminated tulip sculpture. Final design may vary.","layout":"photo"},{"role":"caption","text":"Artist's rendering of Bar 1873 in Oosterdam's atrium, with the illuminated tulip sculpture. Final design may vary. · Holland America Line","textStyle":"caption","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Holland America Line has shown off the first new bar from its fleet makeover, and it is built around a giant glowing flower. Bar 1873 will open on [Oosterdam](https://crusiefrog.com/ships/oosterdam) as part of the ship's Holland America Evolution refit. Its centerpiece is a three-meter illuminated tulip sculpture that rises through the ship's atrium.\n\nThe line announced the bar on Oct. 16, 2026. It also said Oosterdam's Crow's Nest lounge will get a makeover with more live music. You can read [Holland America's announcement](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/holland-america-line-unveils-bar-1873-a-stunning-venue-inspired-by-more-than-150-years-of-maritime-heritage-302910904.html) in full.\n\n## What Bar 1873 looks like\n\nBar 1873 takes over Oosterdam's central atrium on Deck 2 and spans two stories. The London design firm SMC worked on it with the line.\n\nThe tulip is the main event. Holland America says it was inspired by the national flower of the Netherlands and by the orange tulip the line uses as a symbol. It is meant to be seen from many spots around the atrium, and it throws patterns of light across the room.\n\nAround the tulip, the line plans to show more than 200 heritage and repurposed objects. There will also be custom artwork, vintage-style maps and a timeline of the company's history. The line counts 153 years of history, which takes it back to 1873.\n\nA few details nod to the past:\n\n* The carpets are meant to look like light moving across the ocean.\n* A large centerpiece rug takes its design from a clock in the main dining room of the SS Rotterdam.\n* The fireplace draws on the line's first headquarters in Rotterdam, which is now Hotel New York.\n\n## The story behind the theme\n\nEvery ship that gets Bar 1873 will have its own version, the line says. Each one will be based on a different story from Holland America's past.\n\nOn Oosterdam, the theme is called May She Be Blessed. It honors ship christenings and the godmothers who have helped launch the line's ships. The bar draws on one christening in particular: Queen Juliana of the Netherlands named the Rotterdam V in 1958. Holland America points to that event as a sign of its long ties to the Dutch royal family.\n\nBeth Bodensteiner, the line's president, said each Bar 1873 will draw on \"a different part of our heritage, creating a distinct experience aboard every Evolution ship.\"\n\n## What you can drink and hear\n\nThe signature cocktail is also called May She Be Blessed. It is named for the blessing given to a ship before it enters service. Guests can choose an \"essence\" to make the drink their own. The release does not list what those essences are.\n\nThe rest of the menu will mix new takes on classic cocktails with original drinks tied to each bar's story. Holland America has not shared drink prices, and it has not said whether these cocktails are covered by its drink packages.\n\nLive piano is the core of the entertainment. The line plans piano sets during pre-dinner cocktail hours and through the evening. Singers and the line's Vivace musicians will appear at times.\n\n## A busier Crow's Nest\n\nThe Crow's Nest is the lounge known for its wide ocean views. On Oosterdam it will be set up to change through the day. Expect activities and talks in the daytime, then live music in the evening.\n\nThe evening shows will cover songs from the 1970s to today, with more chances to dance. The line says it wants to keep the laid-back feel that has made the Crow's Nest a guest favorite.\n\n## Part of the biggest refit in Holland America's history\n\nHolland America calls Evolution the largest fleet update in its 153-year history. The program will refresh all six of its Vista Class and Signature Class ships, starting with Oosterdam and [Zuiderdam](https://crusiefrog.com/ships/zuiderdam). It will also reach [Arcadia](https://crusiefrog.com/ships/arcadia-holland-america), the Vista Class ship the line is taking over from P\\&O Cruises. We covered that move in our story on [the Holland America, P\\&O and Cunard ship swap](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/holland-america-arcadia-p-and-o-queen-anne-ship-swap-2029).\n\nThe line says Evolution will bring refreshed public spaces, updated cabins and some features from its newer Pinnacle Class ships. Bookings are open now for cruises on Oosterdam and Zuiderdam after their makeovers. For the dates and routes of Oosterdam's first sailings after the refit, see our story on [Oosterdam's Evolution voyages](https://www.loungefrog.com/news/holland-america-oosterdam-evolution-voyages-october-2027).\n\n## What we still don't know\n\nThe release leaves a few questions open:\n\n* **Opening hours.** The line has not said when the bar will be open each day.\n* **Prices.** There are no cocktail prices yet.\n* **Other ships.** The line has not said which story each future Bar 1873 will tell, or when each ship gets one.\n* **Images.** The pictures the line released are artist's renderings, so the final room may look different.\n\nFor now, Bar 1873 on Oosterdam is the first look at what the Evolution refits will bring. You can compare the line's ships on our [Holland America Line page](https://crusiefrog.com/cruise-lines/holland-america-line).","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"}]}