12 cruise ships join in Hamburg's 825th anniversary celebrations

Overall, 37,000 cruise passengers and one million visitors were present in  the port during the three day event.

The first day of the anniversary started with calls by AIDAluna, Delphin, Deutschland, MSC Magnifica, and making a maiden visit to Hamburg, Compagnie du Ponant’s l’Austral.

MSC Magnifica undertook a short trip around the Port of Hamburg, where she was named in 2010. Tunes such as Seven Nation Army and Happy Birthday sounded from the ship's horn.

On the second day, Hamburg Cruise Center welcomed seven cruise ships and 16,000 passengers in both turnaround and transit: AIDAsol, AIDAstella, Albatros, Artania, Deutschland, Hamburg and Mein Schiff 1.

Main sponsor of the event, AIDA Cruises, participated in the celebrations with three ships and presented a grand firework display on Saturday evening. AIDAstella and AIDAsol were berthed directly in front of the Landungsbrücken quays and joined in the spectacular show with on-board laser shows.

After the fireworks, the other five visiting cruise ships departed from the Hanseatic city within the space of an hour, offering an impressive sight as they sailed away into the night.

During the day, Deutschland offered a harbour cruise for its guests while Hamburg, (the former MS Columbus), which was re-christened in the Hanseatic city in 2012, held a one night party cruise along the river Elbe.

On the third day, Queen Elizabeth returned to Hamburg from her world cruise.

‘The presence of twelve different cruise ships honoured the largest port festival in the world and gave the event a unique cruise flair,’ stated Gerd Drossel, managing director Hamburg Cruise Center.