On Tuesday, 22nd January 2019, the Meyer Turku Shipyard is officially handing the ownership of the new cruise vessel “Mein Schiff 2”, currently berthed in Kiel, over to TUI Cruises. The newbuilding had already been relocated from icy Finland to Kiel at the beginning of the year arriving at the Osteseekai Terminal on 5th January. The nearly finished vessel received its finishing touch in Kiel. Simultaneously, over the past two weeks the crew embarkation process took place and the crew used the time to familiarise themselves with the operational processes aboard the ship.
For as long as since 2009, TUI Cruises has been a longtime customer of the PORT OF KIEL. This year, Kiel expects no less than 30 further visits by the “Mein Schiff” fleet. The cruise ves-sels “Mein Schiff 1, “Mein Schiff 3” and the “Mein Schiff 4”, which was christened in Kiel, will be frequent guests on the fjord from the middle of May till the end of September. As soon as Wednesday, 23rd January, the first guests will embark on the new vessel “Mein Schiff 2” which will leave Kiel at about 7 p.m. that day setting sail for the Great Belt. All in all, 179 cruise ship visits to Kiel have been registered to-date for this year. The port thus is expecting further growth in passenger numbers and ships sizes. To handle the growing number of large cruise ships the PORT OF KIEL is currently investing in a second terminal building for passengers and their luggage.