AIDA Cruises, Holland America and MSC Cruises will bring 23,000 passengers to the German port
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Four cruise ships are expected to call at the Port of Kiel in Germany on 12 August, alongside passenger ferries from Color Line, Stena Line and DFDS.
At around 8am, AIDA Cruises’ AIDAvita and AIDAluna will make turnarounds calls at the Ostseekai and Sartorikai berths respectively. Meanwhile, MSC Cruises’ MSC Fantasia will arrive at the Ostuferhafen berth a little later, becoming the largest cruise ship to call at that pier to date. The vessels will be joined by Holland America Line’s Zuiderdam at 11am when she ties up at the Ostseekai’s northernmost berth for a day call.
In total, more than 23,000 passengers will disembark from ships to visit Kiel, or embark on a new cruise from the port.
“We are all well-prepared and look forward to both passengers and ships,” said Dirk Claus, manager director at the port. “Along with all our partners – from agencies to customs – we can guarantee that processing will be smooth.”
Following the departure of Stena Line’s passenger ferry Stena Scandinavia, the four cruise ships will leave Kiel in quick succession from 6pm onwards. AIDAluna will head to Copenhagen, Denmark, while AIDAvita will sail to Newcastle in the UK. DFDS’s ferry Regina Seaways will depart at 8pm, followed by Zuiderdam at 9pm as she embarks on a cruise to Tallinn in Estonia.
“The departure of the big ships is always an impressive sight drawing many onlookers to the Kiel Fiord,” said Claus. “A visit to the port is always worthwhile.”