MSC Virtuosa arriving into Southampton Photo Credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr) The MSC Virtuosa was the first cruise ship to dock in Hamburg in 2023.
The MSC Virtuosa arrived in Hamburg on January 1, 2023, marking the beginning of this year’s cruise season.
From January 8 to January 29, the ship will set course for the Canary Islands for three weeks. The ship will make calls in Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Lisbon, Cadiz and Casablanca followed by visits to the Atlantic islands of Madeira, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. On the way back to Hamburg, the MSC Virtuosa will call in La Coruna and Southampton.
The MSC Virtuosa will make several calls in Hamburg before April 16 turning around in the German port.
In the summer of 2023, the cruise ship will then depart from Southampton, England for Norway or southern Europe.
The MSC Euribia will then take over the trips to Hamburg from the MSC Virtuosa. In the summer of 2023, it will depart from Kiel and head to the Norwegian fjords. Throughout the 2023/2024 season, the MSC Euribia will return to Hamburg on a weekly basis.
The Port of Hamburg is expecting around 280 calls from cruise ships in 2023. The highlights in the port are the port birthday from May 5 to 7, 2023, and the Cruise Days from September 8 to 10, 2023.
The ship was unable to be repaired in the UK, according to the cruise line, and will now sail to Bremerhaven for the work.
While the drydock facility was not named, it could be Lloyd Werft, which is a key drydock in Bremerhaven with a long history of working on cruise vessels.
“We do not compromise on the safety of our guests, staff, or crew,” Ambassador said in a statement. “Therefore, while we have already started work, unfortunately, we are unable to complete it at the Port of Tilbury and therefore Ambience will need to go into drydock.
“She has left London Tilbury this afternoon to go to Bremerhaven where the work and tests will be completed. Regrettably, this will not be concluded in time to operate our Christmas & New Year Canary Islands Cruise, which was due to sail on Wednesday, December 21 2022. We will email all guests this afternoon to further explain and communicate this. We would advise all guests on this sailing to please wait to receive this communication before contacting either us directly or your travel agent.”
The company’s Christmas cruise was set to operate over 15 days to the Canaries. The ship is now expected back in service on Jan 5. 2023 for a 42-night cruise to the Caribbean.
Mein Shiff 3 entering the River Mersey Liverpool, photo credit Spacejunkie2 (flickr)
With its entire seven-ship fleet in service, TUI Cruises has a global footprint for the winter 2022-2023 cruise season.
While most of the fleet is set to offer traditional fly-cruises in the Caribbean and the Canaries, the brand will also offer itineraries in other parts of the world, such as Northern Europe and the Middle East.
Another highlight of the season is the return to Asia, with voyages visiting both the Far East and Southeast Asia onboard the Mein Schiff 5.
Cruise Industry News looked into the company’s full program or the upcoming winter season. Here’s the breakdown:
Caribbean
Mein Schiff 1 Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,900 guests Built: 2018 Homeports: La Romana (Dominican Republic) and Montego Bay (Jamaica) Length: 14 nights Itineraries: Caribbean and Central America visiting Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia Sailing Season: October 28 to March 31
Mein Schiff 2 Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,900 guests Built: 2019 Homeports: La Romana (Dominican Republic) and Bridgetown (Barbados) Length: 14 nights Itineraries: Eastern and Southern Caribbean with visits to St. Maarten, Tortola, St. John’s, Martinique, St. Vincent and more Sailing Season: November 4 to April 7
Canaries, Madeira and Azores
Mein Schiff 4 Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,500 guests Built: 2015 Homeport: Gran Canaria (Spain) Length: Seven nights Itineraries: Canary Islands, Madeira and Morocco visiting La Gomera, Tenerife, Arrecife, Funchal, Agadir and more Sailing Season: October 30 to March 26
Mein Schiff Herz Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 1,850 guests Built: 1997 Homeport: Tenerife (Spain) Length: Seven nights Itineraries: Azores and Cape Verde, in addition to Canaries and Madeira Sailing Season: November 10 to April 6
Northern Europe and Roundtrip Cruises from Germany
Mein Schiff 3 Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,500 guests Built: 2014 Homeport: Bremerhaven (Germany) Length: Four to 35 nights Itineraries: 26- to 35-night cruises to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, the Azores and the Caribbean sailing roundtrip from Germany, in addition to four- to 14-night itineraries in Northern Europe Sailing Season: November 1 to April 23
Southeast Asia and the Far East
Mein Schiff 5 Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,500 guests Built: 2016 Homeports: Singapore and Hong Kong Length: 14 nights Itineraries: Southeast Asia visiting Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in December, January and February, in addition to Far East cruises to China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea in March and April Sailing Season: December 7 to April 26
Middle East
Mein Schiff 6 Capacity (at 100% Occupancy): 2,534 guests Built: 2017 Homeport: Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Length: Seven nights Itineraries: United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman including overnight stays in Dubai and visits to Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Khasab and more Sailing Season: October 29 to March 18
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