By
Laura Hyde |
AIDA Cruises has signed an agreement to continue bringing the same volume of ships and passengers to Germany’s Port of Hamburg for another five years.
The agreement was signed by Hamburg’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Dr. Melanie Leonhard, CEO of Hamburg Port Authority Jens Meier, and president of AIDA Cruises Felix Eichhorn on 1 September onboard cruise ship AIDAsol.
“When a cruise ship enters or leaves the Port of Hamburg, it is an impressive and often unforgettable moment,” said Leonhard. “This is true not only for the passengers onboard, but also for the many spectators watching from the shore. The cruise industry makes an important contribution to adding value and employment in and around our port. Hamburg is one of the most popular cruise destinations in Europe and a pioneer in sustainability issues such as the expansion of shore power. Together with AIDA Cruises, we want to further develop our partnership and thus also Hamburg as a cruise location in a sustainable manner.”
As part of its Green Cruising Strategy, AIDA Cruises joined with the port and city to open Europe’s first shore power plant at the Cruise Center Altona in Hamburg in 2017.
“We were the first cruise line to start using shore power in Europe,” said Eichhorn. “Since 2017 until today, AIDAsol has been regularly purchasing shore power year after year during her calls at Altona. As a long-standing partner of the Port of Hamburg, we are happy to support the Hamburg Port Authority with our experience and expertise in both the shore and ship-side integration tests and for the opening of the new facility at the Steinwerder cruise terminal.”
AIDA Cruises is the Port of Hamburg’s largest cruise customer, with 124 calls in 2023.
“AIDA Cruises has made a significant contribution to the fact that we will probably reach the magic number of one million passengers this year,” said Meier. “We don't want to rest on our laurels, but rather continue to work on it together.”