Albatros is coming to Kiel for the Christmas marketAlbatros is coming to Kiel for the Christmas market

Passengers on this fully-booked winter cruise will visit Kiel’s Christmas market and have the opportunity to take excursions into the surrounding area.

'Winter cruises have a lot of potential, particularly since the Baltic is a relatively calm place to travel. I am sure that in future we will welcome more frequent cruise ships in the cold season,' said Dirk Claus, md of the Port of Kiel.

Ferry companies have been successfully marketing short cruises in winter for many years. The north German Christmas markets are traditionally very popular with Scandinavian cruise travellers. Color Line runs services to Kiel from Oslo in Norway while Stena Line offers winter trips from Gothenburg in Sweden.

The five-day Albatros cruise takes passengers from Hamburg through the Kiel Canal and stops first at Kiel.

'We are especially pleased that our Advent and Christmas Markets cruises have proved popular with so many guests,' said Michael Schulze, voyages director at Phoenix Reisen. 'The winter landscape trip through the Kiel Canal, the pre-Christmas spirit at attractive destinations along the Baltic coast, Kiel with its distinctive feeling for Advent as well as a freshly spruced-up MS Albatros—all these have been reasons why so many guests have chosen to come along.'

After Kiel’s Christmas market closes its doors on Saturday evening, the ship will depart at around 10 p.m. for Copenhagen. It then will visit Wismar and Lübeck before heading back to Hamburg on Dec. 23.