Three maiden calls in the Port of Hamburg

“Artania” and “SeaDream I” were welcomed ceremonially at the Port of Hamburg. As well as the “Costa Magica” from Costa Crociere S.p.A., who chooses Hamburg as home port for the first time. Yesterday, 31 May, the Port of Hamburg celebrated the maiden call of the “Costa Magica”.

Over the last weekend, 28 May, the “MS Artania” from Phönix Reisen got christened in the Port of Hamburg. The ships’ crew, cruise line representatives, passengers and guests of honour followed at the Hamburg Cruise Center HafenCity the familiar ceremony.

Only a few hundred meters down the river Elb, the “SeaDream I” from SeaDream Yacht Club moored in Hamburg on the same day. This was the first arrival of one of the in total two yachts that has ever called the Port of Hamburg. During the official plaque ceremony Werner Viessman from the Hamburg Port Authority welcomed the captain Bjarne Smorawski and his ship, wishing many happy returns.

The maiden call of the “Costa Magica” at the Hamburg Cruise Center Altona on 31 May was marked with an official welcome by a fire boat, while the shanty choir on the dockside ensured that passengers experience the city’s unique maritime atmosphere.

During the plaque ceremony the harbour captain of the Port of Hamburg presented to the captain of the “Costa Magica”, Mario Moretta, an admiralty plaque symbolizing the close links between the ship and the port. Numerous guests from Hamburg’s business world; port representatives, journalists and cruise line representatives have been present.

“It is very important to us that Costa is represented in what is, in the meantime, Germany’s key cruise location, Hamburg. In the coming year we will even have two ships departing from the city. The cruises offered by the “Costa Magica” and the “Costa Pacifica” will provide our guests with an even wider range of attractive Nordic routes to choose from,” says Heiko Jensen, Managing Director Germany of Costa Kreuzfahrten.

Costa Crociere S.p.A., a Carnival plc brand, has chosen Hamburg as the home port for the “Costa Magica” during the 2011 cruise season. This makes her the line’s third ship to be based in a German port this year. The “Costa Magica” represents the further development of Costa Crociere S.p.A.’s presence in Northern Europe.

The “Costa Magica”, this years’ biggest ship with a passenger capacity of 3.470, will visit the Port of Hamburg a total of eleven times, departing the city for interesting Northern and Western Europe tours. Destinations during the 10-day cruises will include attractive European cities such as, for example, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Edinburgh.

Before the ship left the port again in the evening the passengers had the opportunity to discover Hamburg, either independently or on an organized tour. A large number of German passengers has embarked in Hamburg to join the 10-day cruise to the “Magical Cities of the North”, which ends back in the Hanseatic city.