AIDA Cruises, Royal Caribbean Make Germany’s Hamburg their Hub

Germany’s most important cruise port, Hamburg will become the hub for two major international cruise lines, will launch a new ship, host four December cruise ships with holiday shoppers, and welcome seven ships on maiden visits to the city.

On April 20 in Hamburg, AIDA Cruises will launch its newest ship, the AIDAdiva, the first of four club cruisers the internationally renowned Meyer Werft shipyard is building for the company. More than half a million people are expected to be on hand for the week-long celebrations surrounding the launch.

With a capacity to carry 2,050 passengers in 1,025 cabins, the €315 million, 68,500-gross ton AIDAdiva will have an operating speed exceeding 21 knots. AIDAdiva will be the first of four new club ships AIDA Cruises, Germany’s most successful cruise line operator, will launch.

In another first for Hamburg, four cruise ships will bring passengers from England to Germany’s second largest city for Christmas shopping. On December 14, P&O Cruises’ Artemis will make its maiden visit to Hamburg, and on December 18, Cunard Line’s newest ocean liner, Queen Victoria, will visit the city for the first time.

The number of cruise ship passengers visiting Hamburg in 2007 will reach an estimated 140,292, a 72 percent increase over 2006. In addition, the number of cruise ship calls will be up by 12 percent from 2006, which also was a record-setting year for the port.