Europa 2 charts Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia in 2015/16

Africa appears for the first time on the route plan for Europa 2, celebrating its first anniversary this year. In December 2015 and January 2016, five cruises will feature East and South Africa. Ports featured include Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Walvis Bay and Durban, as well as Mauritius.

In the coming year, Europa 2 will make maiden calls in the European ports of Riga, Port Grimaud and Piran and in Bali, Indonesia. A return to Hamburg features with five calls in spring 2015.

Next summer the Hapag Lloyd Cruises ship will cruise on two different week-long routes in the Mediterranean, which can also be combined. When combining both itineraries to make a 14-day cruise, guests will experience 12 Mediterranean ports including Monte Carlo, Bonifacio and Capri, and also benefit from an reduction of €790 per person.

A special combination also makes it possible on Mediterranean cruises to extend one-week cruises by three or four days and to start, or end the cruise in Monte Carlo.

In spring 2015, two and four-day short cruises in Western Europe act as tasters whilst six to twelve-day, or 15 to 20-day cruises are available.

To coincide with the launch of the new programme, two types of suite have been renamed and inclusive services adapted accordingly. The 52sq mtr Spa Suites will now be known as Grand Ocean Suites. In this category, there will no longer be a personal butler, resulting in a reduction  in the cruise price. The Grand Suites on decks 8 and 10 will be renamed Penthouse Suites to reflect their location on the upper decks. The cruise price for the Penthouse Suites on deck 10 will increase slightly to reflect this.

Since Europa 2 was introduced in May 2013, the luxury vessel has sailed 70,000 nautical miles and 30,000 bottles of champagne have been consumed onboard.