Hamburg. The Port of Hamburg celebrated a premiere on 26th September: the 100th call of a cruise liner at the Hamburg Cruise Center in one single season.
To mark the end of her cruise around the British Isles the MS Deutschland was ceremonially welcomed early in the morning at the Hamburg Cruise Center. Gerd Drossel, Managing Director of Hamburg Cruise Center e.V., was delighted about the MS Deutschland’s call, representing the crowning moment of an excellent 2010 cruise season, which, however, does not actually end until December. On board the ship Drossel presented Captain Andreas Greulich with a small gift as a souvenir of the Port of Hamburg. Both men are looking forward to “many happy returns” of the Deutschland in Hamburg. Early in the evening the ship set sail for the Mediterranean and was seen off in true Hanseatic style by one of Hamburg’s fire boats. The MS Deutschland has been a frequent visitor to the Hamburg Cruise Center in 2010; the German “Love Boat” could be seen in the HafenCity district on a total of 9 days.
Numerous maritime highlights have once again made Hamburg’s 2010 cruise season something very special: The 821st port festival; the Hamburg Cruise Days and over 100 ships’ calls, four alone by the Queen Mary 2, make Hamburg an attractive destination for cruise passengers and “see-people”. The 29th September will see a call by the MS Europa and a short break in the cruise season before it finally ends with a number of Christmas cruises in December. March 2011 will, however, already provide the Hamburg Cruise Center with its next opportunity to sing the famous German song “Ein Schiff wird kommen” (“A ship will come”).
2010 was the first year in which over 100 ships called at Hamburg. And the growth trend continues: the Port of Hamburg expects a new record to be set in 2011.
