Meet Captain Jeroen van Donselaar

Capt. Jeroen van Donselaar

Captain Jeroen van Donselaar has been named master of Eurodam and will take the helm when the ship debuts next July. Currently he is the captain of Zuiderdam and is responsible for the entire ship and its complement.

Van Donselaar started with Holland America Line in 1986 as an apprentice officer aboard Noordam. After completing his studies at the De Ruyter Maritime University in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, he became fourth officer on the Nieuw Amsterdam. He continued to rise through the ranks until he was appointed captain in 2002.

Born in Kampen, The Netherlands, van Donselaar said he always has admired the sea. When he was a teenager he was invited onto the bridge of a ferry sailing across the North Sea, and he said the experience made such an impression that he decided to pursue a seafaring career. He noted that the highlight of his tenure with Holland America to date was the nautical supervision of the building of Zaandam in 1999.

When not at sea, van Donselaar lives in Long Island, New York, with his wife. He said he likes to keep his vacation days filled working on various home-improvement projects.