The cruise ship “AIDAprima” marked the ending of the cruise season for Port of Kiel in 2019, with the port having 32 vessels calling this season on 174 separate occasions, in comparison to 2018’s 169, with an overall tonnage of 15 million GT.
The cruise season for Port of Kiel began with the arrival of AIDAcara, with Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the port of Kiel commenting that they have a lot to look forward for that season.
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Specifically, the cruise passengers, who either embarked or departed a ship at the terminals of Kiel, exceeded the port’s expectations for the first time reaching approximately the 800,000. The cruise and ferry passengers as well as the crews generated a total consumer spending of more than 75 million Euros in Kiel and the region.
Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the port of Kiel commented
The Cruise Season 2019 went very well for the port of Kiel. The shipping companies and the port cooperated excellently.
Moreover, the port’s statement adds that the expanded cruise terminal at Ostuferhafen area, inaugurated last April, proved successful to in-crease the capacity and flexibility of the port.
Very big ships with more than 4,000 passengers can be handled smoothly at the Ostuferhafen Terminal.
… noted Dr Claus.
Also, back in July 2019, AIDA cruises announced the addition of Port of Kiel as a port of call for AIDAcara, marking an increase of ships calling the port.
The largest vessel of the season was ‘MSC Meraviglia’, while the most frequent guests were the vessels of the AIDA shipping company with an inaugural call by the “AIDAprima”. Additionally, some vessels that called the port for the first time were “Nieuw Statendam” (Holland America Line), the “Marella Explorer” (Marella Cruises) and the “Vasco da Gama”.
Dr Claus further stated that the port aims to be one of the most eco-friendly ports in Europe, with the construction of the on-shore power supply plant at the Ostseekai Terminal.
