Cruise season peaks in Kiel with four ships at once
Kiel is expecting a quadruple climax to its cruise shipping season on Saturday, August 12th, when four cruise ships will arrive in the port at the same time, in addition to the Baltic ferries of Color Line, Stena Line and DFDS. In the wake of the “AIDAvita” and “AIDAluna”, the “MSC Fantasia” and the “Zuiderdam“ of Holland America Line will berth on Saturday morning, the company said in its press release. Within just a few hours of that more than 23,000 passengers will disembark from ships or go on board.
According to current plans, the first passengers to arrive will be those of the “AIDAvita” and the “AIDAvita”. Those two ships will pass Kiel’s beacon light at around 06:30 and berth at the Ostseekai and the Sartorikai respectively at about 08:00. “MSC Fantasia” will arrive a little later at the Ostuferhafen from Stavanger. The passengers of all three ships are ending Norwegian cruises in Kiel. At 11:00 the “Zuiderdam” will tie up at the Ostseekai’s northernmost berth. About 2,000 passengers on that ship will get an opportunity to take part in excursions ashore on Saturday. Available are trips to a local region of hills and lakes known as Holstein Switzerland and to the Hanse city of Lübeck and the seaside spa resort of Laboe. A range of tours to the north German metropolis of Hamburg are also on the programme.
The SEEHAFEN KIEL operates Kiel’s commercial port on behalf of the Schleswig-Holstein state capital of Kiel, of which it is a 100% subsidiary company. Kiel has two berths available for very big cruise ships at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal, which is in close proximity to Kiel’s city centre. Smaller ships can be accommodated in addition at the Norwegenkai, the Schwedenkai and at Sartorikai. Cruise ships of more than 300 metre length, carrying up to 4,000 passengers can be handled at Berth No. 1 in the Ostuferhafen. During this year’s cruise season, 142 calls have been registered by 28 different cruise ships. For the very first time, more than half a million cruise ship passengers are expected.