German cruise port has also celebrated its 826th anniversary and handled several maiden visits
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Hamburg Cruise Center will have handled 40 cruise calls, several maiden visits, and more than 100,000 passengers by the end of May 2015.
On 1 May, Hamburg welcomed a maiden call from MSC Cruises’ MSC Splendida, which will be the largest passenger vessel to call at the German port this year.
To mark her maiden call, MSC Splendida’s captain Giuseppe Maresca exchanged plaques with Jörg Pollman, Hamburg’s harbour master. Other attendees at the ceremony included Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC’s executive chairman, and Frank Horch, senator of Hamburg. Meanwhile, the cruise centre hosted a festival with live performers.
From 8-10 May, six cruises ships visited the port during its 826th anniversary celebrations. They included AIDA Cruises’ AIDAbella and AIDAsol, Phoenix Reisen’s Amadea and Artania, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europe 2 and Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth. Both Amadea and Europe 2 made multiple visits to the port over the weekend, while AIDA Cruises organised a firework display and AIDAbella hosted a laser display.
Further first maiden calls in this packed month were Quark Expeditions’ Ocean Diamond and Posedion Expeditions’ Sea Spirit, which called on 12 and 16 May respectively. TUI Cruises newbuild Mein Schiff 4 is scheduled to make her maiden call in Hamburg on 22 May.
“It is important to us, that a ship’s maiden call, or even a first visit by a cruise line to our Hanseatic city, is a special experience,” said Nadine Palatz, managing director of Hamburg Cruise Center. “After several years of working on acquisitions, receiving the ship in the port of Hamburg is the crowning glory and will be attended to by us with all means at our disposal.”