By
Rebecca Gibson |
AIDA Cruises’ AIDAcara is to close the Port of Kiel’s busy 2014 season when she sets sail for the Canary Islands in 18 October.
2014 was a milestone year for the German port, which inaugurated its new Ostuferhafen Berth 1 cruise passenger pavilion on 2 June when it hosted Costa Cruises’ 114,500 gt Costa Pacifica. Located on the eastern side of Kiel Fjord, Berth 1 was inaugurated in June 2013 with a call by Holland America Line’s (HAL) Eurodam and was initially used for transit calls but now with a 400 m quay, the new passenger gangway and fender system, it can accommodate ships in excess of 300 metres in length. It also enables the German port to handle turnaround calls in Ostuferhafen for the first time.
In addition, the German Seamen’s Mission opened a Seafarers’ Lounge in the port’s Ostseekai Cruise Terminal. Similar to facilities in Hamburg and Venice, the 140 sqm Seamen’s Lounge offers crew a place to meet with other seafarers, contact family and friends and seek advice from the Seamen’s Mission.
“We can look back on a season full of highlights and one which has also been marked by the inauguration of our fifth terminal berth for cruise ships,” said Dr Dirk Claus, managing director of the Port of Kiel.
This year, Kiel hosted 25 cruise ships during a total of 127 calls, while 354,000 cruise passengers used its terminal facilities to embark or disembark their ships. Frequent callers included AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises and TUI Cruises, which together visited the German port a total of 75 times. The port also served as the homeport for several ships targeted specifically at the German market, while various international operators called at the port on day trips.
Meanwhile, the port has handled several maiden calls from ships such as Portuscale Cruises’ Azores on 15 May, Saga Cruises’ Saga Pearl 2 on 19 May, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ flagship Europa 2 on 11 June, and TUI Cruises’ new flagship Mein Schiff 3, which made her international debut at the port on 4 June. In another first, all three of TUI’s ships called in Kiel over a four-day period in June, while the port handled 16 calls during the Kieler Woche sailing regatta.
“The new cruise shipping Berth 1 has already been tried, tested and well received,” said Claus. “17 calls are already planned for the facility next year.”
Next season, which opens with a call from AIDA’s AIDAcara on 4 April, the port will also be a regular port of AIDAluna and handle an inaugural visit from Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth. The port’s Ostseekai terminal will also host the christening ceremony for TUI’s latest newbuild Mein Schiff 4 on 5 June. In addition, on four occasions, Kiel will simultaneously host a quartet of cruise ships, as well as regular Color Line, Stena Line and DFDS Seaways ferries.
While Kiel does not expect the number of cruise calls to rise significantly in 2015, the total gross tonnage of the ships visiting the port will increase by 14% to more than 8.1 million.