Monday, April 20, 2015 - 09:45 by ce-press
Hamburg has rejoined Cruise Europe after an absence of a few years, having been a founder member. This year is quite a year for the German port which is expecting 161 calls, mostly turnarounds, and 525,000 passengers compared to 189 and 590,000 in 2014. The 2015 season lasts 10 months with only February and November without calls.
Six cruiseships - AIDAbella, AIDAsol, Amadea, Artania, Europa 2 and Queen Elizabeth - will be attending the Hamburg port anniversary celebrations 8 to 10 May this year.
In June a third terminal, Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder (HCCS) is due to be commissioned. Able to handle up to 8,000 passengers at one time, it will feature separate arrival and departure buildings covering an area of 9,000m2.
A 400m-long pier will be able to handle ships of more than 330m in length with a draught of 12m. The distance to the quay is 3.5m to 5.5m. There is a Yokohama fender and two passenger boarding bridges. Fresh water is available at the quayside.
There are 1,500 long-term and 1,500 short-term parking lots for transfers at the terminal as well as parking for 15 coaches, 11 of which are covered. There is a bus stop outside the terminal area and public wharf and a cafe in the terminal.
For the first time this year Hamburg Cruise Days and Seatrade Europe are joining forces to create the Hamburg Cruise Week from 4 to 13 September. Alongside these two events will be cruise-themed activities including a one-day travel sales event. In 2017 the week will take place 6 to 10 September.
Next year is also a groundbreaking one as AIDA Cruises’ newbuilding AIDAprima will be homeported in the city sailing a seven-day itinerary year-round from April 2016.
The two existing terminals are Hamburg Cruise Center HafenCity (HCCH) and Hamburg Cruise Center Altona (HCCA). The former consists of two terminals and two berths, each of 230m in length and with the ability to accommodate vessels up to 345m in length or larger on request and a draught of 11m. Terminal one can handle 2,800 passengers and terminal two 2,000. New this year at HCCH is the LNG power barge which offers an alternative power supply to vessels.
HCC Altona has one terminal and one berth of 408m for ships up to 300m in length and with a draught of 9.5m. Up to 3,000 passengers can be handled at one time. Also new this year is the provision of shoreside electricity at the terminal.
Both HCCH and HCCA have longterm parking in nearby garages and parking spaces for between 8 and 15 coaches as well as short-term parking for transfers of 125 and 180 respectively. Public transfers are via bus 111 from both with HCCA having also a public local ferry station, Dockland. Both have cafes onsite. Freshwater is on hand at both whilst greywater disposal is only possible at HCCA. Both have three Yokohama fenders with a gangway at HCCH and a passenger boarding bridge at HCCA.
Cruise Gate Hamburg, created by the Port of Hamburg and the airport, is the operator of the new terminal, HCCS, and will take over the operation of both HafenCity and Altona next year. Newly-appointed managing director Sacha Rougier will work together with Hamburg Cruise Center which has 120 members.
In 2017 the long awaited Elbphilharmonie will be opened and Hamburg has recently been nominated a candidate city for the Olympic Games in 2024. Berlin is 90 minutes by train although Hamburg itself has much to offer including 1,200 years of history from Speicherstadt to HafenCity, the Alster lake, canals and Christmas markets. There is one non-stop flight to the USA. The North Sea is 80nm downriver with an average cruising time of six and a half hours with no bridges or locks to encounter.
Nadine Palatz, managing director Hamburg Cruise Centre, said that the reason for rejoining CE is about working together with both ports and destinations to market not just a single entity but a region. “We need to work together to maintain and further strengthen our cruise region identity to increase capacities in northern Europe and promote our region in Asia to cruise travel agents. Cruise Europe is a good additional stage to achieve those goals as well as, and of course hand in hand, with the cruiselines”.
