'This is an excellent result given that this is the first year we are fully operational,' said Sacha Rougier, md of CGH operator of Hamburg’s three cruise centres (Altona, HafenCity and Steinwerder).
'Our work behind the scenes and the close dialogue with the cruise companies resulted in a record number of passengers in 2016. This development is also due to the close co-operation with Hamburg Tourismus and Hamburg Cruise Center, within the Cruise Net Hamburg initiative,' she added.
Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Joy, Mein Schiff 6, Independence of the Seas, MSC Preziosa and Silver Wind are all scheduled to call at the Hanseatic city for the first time next year.
Major brands AIDA Cruises, MSC Cruises, TUI Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Costa will be homeporting ships in the city.
Hamburg Cruise Days and Blue Port Hamburg, a combined event that draws large crowds will feature again in 2017 between September 8-10 2017, luring hundreds of thousands of cruise enthusiasts to the port and together with the Harbour’s anniversary (May 5-7, 2017) has become one of the major events in the Hanseatic city’s event calendar.
The biennial Seatrade Europe returns to Hamburg on September 6-8, 2017.
'The strategic decision to stage the Hamburg Cruise Days, a spectator’s event, simultaneously with international industry events such as Seatrade Europe, a major European trade fair, strengthens Hamburg as a location for business and reinforces our city’s reputation as a centre of excellence for the international cruise industry,' says Michael Otremba md of Hamburg Convention Bureau and Hamburg Tourismus.
Next year’s sixth Hamburg Cruise Days sees ten cruise ships participating over the weekend event: AIDAprima MSC Preziosa, Europa and Europa 2, Mein Schiff 3, Albatros and Amadea, Silver Wind, Norwegian Jade and the river cruise ship Sans Souci (Plantours).
On the eve of the event’s Saturday September 6 the cruise ships, accompanied by 24 smaller boats and a brilliant display of fireworks, will sail down the River Elbe. 'The parade will beat everything you’ve ever seen,' says event organiser Uwe Bergmann.
Other highlights on the water will be a fireworks display on Friday night and 'Cruise Night' with many of the passenger boats offering themed boat rides on the River Elbe.
Since 2008, the Blue Port Hamburg event staged by lighting artist, Michael Batz, has made headlines. In 2017, his lighting art will once again transform the port and Hamburg’s key landmarks into a sea of blue at night, providing a unique backdrop for the Hamburg Cruise Days. Batz will illuminate over one hundred places in the port located between the Elbe Bridges [Elbbrücken] and Övelgönne including buildings, towers, terminals, commercial vehicles, quay sections, cranes, piers, pontoons and ships.
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