At the weekend, the seaport of Kiel reached the mark of one million cruise passengers in one season for the first time. On Saturday, the MSC Euribia, AIDAnova and Excellence Coral called at the PORT OF KIEL, and on Sunday the AIDAbella and AIDAluna visited Ostseekai, according to the company's release.
Kiel had already seen a positive trend in the cruise business in recent years, which had been put on hold by the slump during the Corona pandemic. In addition to the strong presence of the major European cruise lines AIDA, Costa, MSC and TUI, in recent years North American shipping companies, such as Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, have increasingly chosen Kiel as a cruise destination in the Baltic Sea region for their fleets.
As recently as 2022, Kiel's seaport recorded its busiest season ever with 243 calls and 835,000 passengers. For the current season 2023, 222 cruise calls have been announced.