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MSC Meraviglia sets new records at Hamburg’s Steinwerder terminal

PHOTO: Peter Glaubitt
MSC Meraviglia at Hamburg's Steinwerder Cruise Center
Port of Hamburg’s Steinwerder Cruise Center is preparing to welcome back MSC Meraviglia on Thursday plus exactly 5,085 disembarking guests and their more than 7,000 suitcases.

Later tomorrow another 5,181 new passengers will embark on Meraviglia’s next cruise – making it a record turnaround day for the terminal with 10,253 guests (plus nine in transit).

The MSC Cruises’ ship, currently on a 10-day round trip Hamburg cruise, is based at the Hanseatic port city until late September.

10 days ago, during MSC Meraviglia's first summer embark on July 29, another record was set when 5,085 guests joined the ship. 400 tons of provisions were also loaded.

Record 5,000+ embarking guests on a single ship

According to Sacha Rougier, md of Cruise Gate Hamburg (CGH), the operator of the port’s three cruise terminals, this is all in a day’s work however on July 29, it is the first time that more than 5,000 guests have embarked on a single ship, at Steinwerder, she remarked.

‘Together with MSC Cruises and their representative and the port agent, we prepared ourselves for these high passenger numbers.’

‘The Steinwerder Cruise Center was built in 2015 for the largest and most modern cruise ships and is also best positioned for nautical and transportation purposes on the north side of the Elbe River on outskirts of town,’ said Rougier.

Michael Zengerle, md of MSC Cruises in Germany explains: ‘MSC Meraviglia, our flagship in Hamburg for the current summer season, is offering cruises from Steinwerder around Great Britain and Ireland or Iceland, as well as the Norwegian fjords and Spitsbergen.

Customer satisfaction

He praised the CGH operation and speed of baggage check, check-in and the security check, and parking at the terminal.

‘The successful cooperation of all participants on site guarantees the highest customer satisfaction,’ said Zengerle.

The high volume of passengers also brings challenges for the more than 100 people working at the terminal during turnaround days.

Alexander Napp, md of PWL Port Services and ship agent for MSC Cruises in Port of Hamburg added, ‘in addition to the guest change and luggage and provisioning of the ship there is access for day guests to think of too.’

Rougier who oversees Hamburg’s Altona, HafenCity and Steinwerder Cruise Centers said, ‘Cruise ship business in Hamburg has already become, and will be more, complex in the future.

‘For a positive guest experience it is essential to have good accessibility to the terminals not only for domestic passengers but also for international guests joining the ships.’

MSC's first Meraviglia-Plus newbuild MSC Grandiosa will be named in Hamburg in November 2019.