Germany: Warnemunde Expects Record of Port Calls for New Year

Ulrich Bauermeister, managing director of Rostock Port Development Company, states that Warnemünde remains the most popular German cruise port also in 2013. The company operates the passenger port at the mouth of river Warnow since 2001 and has continuously developed it ever since.

A new record of port calls by cruise liners is again expected in Rostock’s Baltic Sea resort for the new year. 28 cruise shipping companies from around the world have notified 197 calls by 40 vessels to the Rostock Port Development Company for the coming year. ‘After this year’s German record season with 181 port calls we are adding yet a few more and getting really close to the 200 mark. That speaks for the port, the region and all the service providers and public authorities involved in cruise shipping. In order to maintain this high level we need to secure the existing port areas long-term and we need to use additional traffic areas at the passenger quay in Warnemünde’, says Ulrich Bauermeister.

The new year’s season starts spectacularly right away. Rostock-based shipping company AIDA Cruises sends its newly-built AIDAstella to Warnemünde from 16 to 17 March. Apart from this first port call of the season, AIDAbella and AIDAmar will also be regular visitors at the headquarters of the largest German cruise operator in 2013 with 21 port calls each. Both vessels will change passengers here. Further highlights next year will be two queens calling in Warnemünde for the first time: Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Victoria. Further new arrivals will be the passenger vessels Artania of Phoenix Reisen, Azamara Quest of Azamara Cruises, Carnival Cruises’ Carnival Legend and Voyager of Voyages of Discovery.

87 ships calling will change all or some of their passengers in Warnemünde and 110 vessels will send passengers on day trips to Rostock, the holiday region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or to Berlin. Apart from the first ever five-pack of cruise liners at the port of Rostock there are five quadruple and 17 triple port calls of holiday liners in the shipping list for 2013. On Hansesail Saturday, 10 August, AIDAmar, Costa Fortuna and Star Flyer will berth at the passenger quay while Artania and Ocean Majesty will berth at the overseas port.

Apart from AIDAmar and AIDAbella (21 port calls each), the most frequent guests in the Baltic Sea resort of Rostock will be Norwegian Star (15), Costa Fortuna (14), Emerald Princess (11) and Empress (10). 15 ships of the 197 calling here next year will have to moor at the overseas port since all berths in Warnemünde will be busy.