HAMBURG’S BUSY 2017 CRUISE SEASON

In addition to the opening of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg at the start of 2017, cruise ships are set to play a central role for Hamburg’s 2017 tourism year. In September, highlights will include the Hamburg Cruise Days, Europe’s biggest public cruise festival, and Seatrade Europe, which will be held shortly prior to the festival.

Before these events, there will be various other occasions for visiting Hamburg, which describes itself as the cruise hotspot in Northern Germany. These include the traditional Hafengeburtstag port festival as well as several premiering ship arrivals and ship launching ceremonies, with TUI Cruise’s Mein Schiff 6 leading the way. Hamburg is expecting more than 200 cruise ship arrivals with around 800,000 passengers in 2017.

Taking place for the sixth time, the Hamburg Cruise Days from 8 to 10 September 2017 will once again transform the port of Hamburg into one big stage for both the cruise industry and cruise fans.

A record ten cruise liners are scheduled to take part in the 2017 Hamburg Cruise Days, the biggest public cruise festival in Europe. These will include AIDAprima (AIDA Cruises), MSC Preziosa (MSC Kreuzfahrten), Europa and Europa 2 (Hapag-Lloyd Cruises), Mein Schiff 3 (TUI Cruises), Albatros and Amadea (Phoenix Reisen), Silver Wind (Silversea Cruises), as well as Norwegian Jade and Sans Souci (Plantours), which will be the first appearance of a river cruise ship at the event.

The record attendance of ships will make this year‘s ship parade the biggest parade ever. On the evening of 9 September, six cruise ships will jointly leave the port of Hamburg and make their way down the River Elbe, accompanied by 24 escort ships and a large fireworks display. Overall, 1,575m of ship, equalling 502,946 gross registered tonnes as well as 17,140 passengers, will be joining the show, making the parade an amazin spectacle.