Cruise Industry: Hapag-Lloyd target international cruise market

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises have traditionally focused on the German-speaking cruise market, now they’re going international, with a new focus on foreign markets, including South African cruise passengers and the Middle East out of the regional cruise hub of Dubai.

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Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the modern successor of two of the oldest German passenger shipping lines in the world, is finally going after the international cruise market, with a new introductory offer exclusively for international cruise passengers.

The cruise line has announced an “on-board beverage credit” for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, the amount of which depends on the length of the cruise. The credit will be available to passengers booked on cruises after October 1st, 2014 aboard the cruise line’s new flagship Europa 2 and the smaller Antarctic expedition ship Hanseatic – one of the only five star expedition ships in the world.

Europa 2 is Hapag-Lloyd’s stunning new flagship, one of the most luxurious in the world

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is a subsidiary of TUI AG, a leading German travel and tourism company, but before the transfer, it was owned by Hapag-Loyd AG, which was formed in 1970 with the merger of Hapag, which dated from 1847, and North German Lloyd (NGL), which was formed in 1856. This is therefore a cruise line with a rich pedigree, but until recently it was marketed almost exclusively at the German-speaking cruise market.

The polar expedition ship Hanseatic (above) and Europa 2 (top) are the two cruise ships offering the beverage credit to international guests

Now, its going international. “I am delighted to see the number of bookings increasing from our international markets,” says Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. “We would like to embrace further our new international markets and therefore address the different needs of our international guests.”

Hapag-Lloyd is particularly targeting the North American, British and Australian cruise markets, as well as the Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia. In going after the United Kingdom cruise market, Hapag-Lloyd have announced that they’re going to have their cruise ships sailing from UK ports for the first time, while Julian Pfitzner, Director of Product Management for the 500-passenger, ultra luxury Europa 2, has even gone so far as to suggest the cruise line may offer a round-Britain cruise in the near future. “We will see many more UK ports on our itineraries,” Pfitzner said recently at a press conference in London. “And more cruises departing from the UK.”

While the South African and Middle Eastern cruise markets were not explicitly mentioned by Mr Pojer, Cruise Arabia & Africa can confirm that the luxury flagship, Europa 2 will be sailing from Cape Town, South Africa on a 17-night Southern African extravaganza voyage on December 18th, 2015.

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The cruise ship will visit the major South African cruise ports of Port Elizabeth, Durban and of course Cape Town, as well as the less-frequented Mossel Bay in the Western Cape and Walvis Bay and Ludertiz in Namibia. Europa 2 will depart Cape Town again on January 3rd, 2016, bound for Port Louis in Mauritius, a 15-night voyage that will include Port Elizabeth, Durban, Richard’s Bay, Maputo, Portuguese Island, Fort Dauphin in Madagascar and Reunion Island.

The Middle East isn’t neglected either. Already the darling of the German-speaking cruise market, with TUI Cruises and AIDA Cruises both basing several ships in the region during the winter cruise season, Europa 2 will sail from the regional cruise hub of Dubai on two cruises in 2015.

A 10th of November departure will see her cruise the Arabian Gulf for 9-nights, before undertaking a 20-night cruise to Mauritius on the 18th of November, 2015. Meanwhile, her fleetmate, Europa, will offer a third Hapag-Lloyd cruise from Dubai on December 3rd – a 19-night cruise from the Arabian Gulf, across the Indian Ocean to Singapore.

The value of the beverage credit depends on the length of the cruise: €100 per person will be offered for cruises of less than six nights; €150 per person will be offered for cruises of seven to ten nights; and if the cruise lasts longer than ten days a beverage credit of €200 will apply for each international guest.