By
Rebecca Gibson |
Germany’s Port of Hamburg is set to receive a record number of 176 cruise visits and more than 500,000 passengers this year.
Hamburg Cruise Center handled 91 calls and 271,317 passengers between January and the end of June, marking a 24 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Around 95 per cent of these guests travelled through the port on turnaround cruises. May was a record-breaking month with the cruise terminals in Altona, HafenCity and Überseebrücke welcoming a total of 100,019 passengers and 38 calls.
Several vessels celebrated their maiden visits in the first six months of 2013. AIDA Cruises’ AIDAstella arrived on 12 March and is set to make a total of 18 visits, before concluding her season in Hamburg on 25 August.
Azamara Club Cruises’ Azamara Quest also called at the port for the first time on 23 July as part of its ten-night, Ireland, Scotland and Germany – British Open cruise. International guests from around 30 different countries enjoyed a variety of excursions including tours of Blankenese, Speicherstadt, Jungfernstieg and Outer Alster, the Reeperbahn and Lübeck.
Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Legend is scheduled to make her inaugural visit in September.
The port expects to handle 85 calls and around 230,000 passengers over the next six months.