The German port of Hamburg celebrated from the 9 to 12 May the 824th anniversary of its foundation, when more than 1.5 million people visited the world’s largest port festival along the harbour front, Hamburg Cruise Centre said in a statement.
The cruise industry also used the Elbe River as its catwalk and showed stage during the port anniversary festival. Highlights such as the naming of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten’s new Europa 2; the rocking final of TUI Cruises’ “Full Metal Cruise”; the AIDA firework display and the arrival of a total of 13 cruise ships in the Port of Hamburg made the Hanseatic city North Germany’s cruise hot spot last weekend.
A particular highlight this year was the christening of the new Europa 2 on the Elbe River off Hamburg’s prestigious Blankenese district on Friday evening. The ship was greeted with a firework display before embarking on its maiden voyage to Amsterdam followed by a cruise around Western Europe.
The Hanseatic city is in greater demand than ever by cruise lines and their guests. The 2013 cruise season will see a total of 177 ship’s calls and half a million passengers in Hamburg. The Port of Hamburg will thus again be the most frequented German Turn Around Port, it said.
