Saga Pearl 2 pays first visit to Port of Kiel

The Saga Cruises’ vessel sailed over night through the Kiel Canal and was welcomed at the entrance to the Kiel Fiord with a water fountain display from a port tug which escorted the cruise ship to her berth at the Ostseekai.

During a reception on board, Kiel’s City president Hans-Werner Tovar and md of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL), Dr Dirk Claus, presented the ship’s master with the port’s commemorative first-call plaque.

‘Kiel lies directly at the exit to the Kiel Canal and is the gateway to the Baltic’, said Claus. ‘So the port is perfectly placed for a stop-over and passengers are able to get to see the places of interest in north Germany during a day ashore.’

Kiel’s land excursion programme ranges from city tours through scenic trips across the region of Schleswig-Holstein to visits to Lübeck and Hamburg. All destinations are accessible by coach.

‘A visit to north Germany is well worth while,’ according to Claus. In 2013 60,000 – mainly English-speaking passengers – took excursions from ships visiting Kiel for the day.

As well as Saga Cruises, ships from Fred. Olsen, P&O Cruises and Holland-America Line are also due to visit Kiel this summer from cruises originating in England.