After the major celebrations for Hamburg’s birthday weekend, the next important nautical event for the German port is Hamburg Cruise Days, which takes place between 17 and 19 August. The ships due in Hamburg during that period are Queen Mary 2, AIDAluna, AIDAmar, Deutschland, Astor, Columbus 2 and MSC Lirica. For a week the port will be bathed in the blue light of artist Michael Batz’s Blue Port illuminations, and over the weekend the quaysides will once again become a vast open-air market.
River trips will also be available on Cap San Diego, the icebreakers Elbe and Stettin, and the 100-year-old steamer Schaarhorn, to name but a few. The evening of 18 August sees a grand parade featuring the departing AIDAmar, Astor, Columbus2, Deutschland and MSC Lirica. This will be the third such event; the first was in 2008 and it is now held every other year.
