Germany is the location of several renowned cruise lines, of which AIDA Cruises is the largest and best known. In the course of its existence, the Rostock-based company has awakened the interest in and passion for cruises among millions of German-speaking guests through skillful marketing and consistently good services.
The cruise line Azamara ex Azamara Club Cruises was a brand and a company of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd for many years. Azamara Club Cruises has represented the boutique ship division within the group since 2007. The cruise ships are positioned in the premium plus segment. The company, renamed Azamara, has belonged to the New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners since spring 2021.
Under the umbrella of the globally operating British-American cruise company Carnival Corporation & plc act nine well-known societies as well Fathom, the Newcomer of the Year 2015. The Carnival Group is the world's largest cruise operator and one of the largest tourism companies with around 11 million guests annually. Leading brands are part of the group's portfolio.
Celebrity Cruises Inc. is a trademark of Royal Caribbean Group. The world's second largest cruise company acquired Celebrity Cruises in 1997 from the Greek shipping company Chandris. Celebrity Cruises currently operates 12 cruise ships and four expedition ships. All Celebrity Cruises ships share two distinctive features: a white "X" on the funnel and a blue "X" on the hull. The distinctive "X" stands for the letter in the Greek alphabet "About".
Based in Limassol, Cyprus, Celestyal Cruises is a niche operator with a focus on Greek island destinations. The stock company goes back to the Louis Group, which was founded in 1935. The company founder was the late Louis Loizou. He is considered the “father of tourism” in Cyprus. In addition to the cruise company, the group of companies operates 25 hotels. According to its own information, it is also active in air transport, catering and other tourism segments.
The cruise
The traditional British-American shipping company Cunard Line, based in Southampton and Santa Clarita/California, can look back on more than 180 years of corporate history. The founder of the company was the Canadian businessman Samuel Cunard, who was born in Halifax/Nova Scotia in 1787.
The cruise line Holland America Line (HAL), based in Seattle in the northwest of the USA, officially celebrates its 18th anniversary on April 2023, 150. In 1873 the Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij NV (NASM) was founded in Rotterdam. The origins of this company even go back to 1871.
The Hurtigruten, founded in 1893 by the Norwegian captain and shipowner Richard With, operate liner services to the port cities on the 2.700 kilometer long Norwegian coast.
MSC Crociere SA, the cruise line of the Geneva/Switzerland-based, privately owned Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), currently operates 21 cruise ships. In June 2023, MSC Euribia will join the MSC fleet as the 22nd member. The self-proclaimed world's largest privately held cruise company boasts one of the youngest cruise fleets and is a market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa.
Norwegian Cruise Line Corporation Ltd. (NCL) is the largest of three Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd companies. The international cruise company based in Miami/Fl. has been awarded several times in national markets.
Nicko cruises has been offering river cruises since 1992. In addition to trips with river boats, the shipping company has recently started offshore and expedition trips with the WORLD VOYAGER and the VASCO DA GAMA. Nicko cruises cruises are under the motto "Small ships: Big experiences".
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCL) is active worldwide, just like Carnival, MSC and Royal Caribbean. The brands Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises operate under the umbrella of the holding company.
Oceania Cruises is part of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., one of the world's leading cruise groups. The holding also owns the cruise brands Norwegian Cruise Line and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Oceania Cruises' headquarters are in Miami, the European headquarters in Southampton and the German office in Wiesbaden.
That today under the name P & O Cruises operating company is only a small part of what was once the most glamorous shipping company in the British Empire. Originally everything had started so promisingly. The industrial revolution changed social and economic conditions in Great Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Shipping companies became increasingly important. In 1834 the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company founded. It offered boat connections from Great Britain to the Iberian Peninsula.
The cruise operator, which was founded in December 2011 and is based in Hamburg, has been operating the well-established and proven cruise ship since spring 2012 MS Delphin. A branch is maintained in Offenbach. The tour operator business, sales and marketing are organized from there. Passat Kreuzfahrten chartered the ship from the new owner, Vishal Cruises Pvt. Ltd., Mauritius.
The origins of the small, Bremen-based tour operator Plantours cruises go back to 1980. At that time, a travel agency from Hanover founded a special tour operator for rail and boat trips. The company left the company nine years later plantours & Partner GmbH Hervor.
At the beginning of April 2017, 18 cruise ships were sailing under the shipping flag of zur Carnival group belonging premium brand Princess Cruises. The ships, which can hold between 672 and 3.560 passengers, have a total capacity of more than 40.000 beds. Two million passengers are drawn on board Princess ships every year. They navigate around 150 routes on the world's oceans and dock in more than 300 ports around the world.
The Royal Caribbean Group is the parent company of the world's second largest cruise company, which operates 65 ships under several brand names. The company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was founded in 1997. Legal domicile is Monrovia/Liberia. Operationally, the group is managed from Miami/Florida. The group's ships call at more than 800 destinations on all seven continents.
The success story of Royal Caribbean International (RCI) began in 1969. More than 50 years later, the Miami/Florida-based cruise line is the best-known brand in the world Royal Caribbean Group. The current 26 RCI cruise ships call at ports on six continents and visit more than 300 destinations.
In the early 1990s, the Italian lawyer and professor of maritime law decided Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidioto found a luxury cruise line. She got the name Silversea cruises. The first two ships were each 157 meter long and measured at around 17.000 GT Silver Cloud and Silver Wind. Currently (as of March 2016) Silversea Cruises operates eight ships, a ninth ship the Silver Muse, it's in preparation.
It certainly doesn't hurt to have a company headquarters in Monaco. This is probably what Stockholm-born Michael Krafft thought. The studied lawyer specializing in maritime law, founded the shipping company Star Clipper Cruises in 1989.
Germany's cruise market has been growing continuously for years. Since May 2009 the Hamburger TUI Cruises GmbH contributed significantly. The company was held in equal parts by the Hanoverian TUI Group and the Miami based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. founded. In 2020, the company took over all of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, which previously belonged to the TUI Group. With five ships, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is a provider of luxury and expedition cruises.
