A Christmas Surprise: Hamburg welcomes its 800,000th Cruise Passenger

18 Dec 2017 08:53 Economy

Hamburg celebrated the end of the cruise year 2017 by welcoming the 800,000th cruise passenger. The winner was in for an early Christmas surprise when he disembarked at Cruise Terminal Steinwerder and received a free Hamburg weekend break that included many highlights.

This year, the lucky winner came from the United Kingdom. Mr Milford had disembarked the Columbus with his partner Mrs Starkey-Nesling to spend an enjoyable afternoon in a Christmassy Hamburg. His plans never featured a shanty choir or a festive welcome committee, and his smile couldn’t have been wider. To the applause of the entire terminal, Sacha Rougier (Managing Director of Cruise Gate Hamburg GmbH), Matthias Rieger (Managing Director of Hamburg Cruise Net e.V.) and Allwyn Furtado (Hotel Director, Cruise and Maritime Voyages) congratulated and presented him with a Hamburg explorer package. A beaming Mr Milford said, “This is the fifteenth time that we travel with Cruise & Maritime and we’ve never experienced anything like this. What a wonderful surprise! I am very happy about the prize.” The explorer package, sponsored by the partners of Hamburg Cruise Center, included one overnight stay at Atlantic Kempinski Hamburg, a city sightseeing tour, admission to the miniature wonderland (model railway) and the prototype car museum, a guided tour through Airbus, and a HamburgCard. Before the prize was presented, the HHLA shanty choir - De Jungs vun de Logerhus - set the mood for the impromptu celebration with Hamburg-themed songs.

The cruise liner will say farewell to the Hanseatic city in the evening by doing a “lap of honour” in front of the Elbphilharmonie. This “out-of-the-ordinary” departure will take place in the Port of Hamburg on the occasion of the “out-of-the-ordinary” call to celebrate Hamburg´s 800,000th cruise visitor. Since June 2017 the Columbus, owned by the British cruise company Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), has been cruising the seas all year round departing from London Tilbury and other European ports. The ship was extensively refurbished in August 2015 and can accommodate up to 1,400 passengers, which makes for a generous passenger-space ratio. After leaving Cruise Center Steinwerder on December 16th, the Columbus is scheduled to return to the Port of Hamburg three times in 2018 (the latest cruise schedule is available at www.cruisegate-hamburg.de).

“The fact that we continue to welcome new cruise lines here in Hamburg shows just how attractive Hamburg as a cruise destination is,” says Sacha Rougier. “British guests in particular like the special atmosphere of Christmassy Hamburg and its many lovely Christmas markets.”

“It is important to Hamburg that its visitors feel welcome and have a memorable stay,” Matthias Rieger adds. “With the support of Hamburg Cruise Net [a cruise shipping initiative> we were able to mark the occasion with a prize for the 800,000th passenger. We hope he will always have fond memories of his stay in Hamburg.”

Besides the Harbour’s Birthday, which Hamburg celebrates on the second weekend in May 2018, the upcoming cruise year will see the maiden calls of altogether ten ships: the Asuka 2, AIDAperla, AIDAnova, Mein Schiff 1, MSC Meraviglia, Navigator of the Seas, Seabourn Ovation, Viking Sun and Viking Sky.
 

A Christmas Surprise: Hamburg welcomes its 800,000th Cruise Passenger

Press contact

Cruise Gate Hamburg
Kathrin Schweppe-May
Phone: +49 40 42847 – 5083
Email: presse@cgh.hamburg.de