Hapag-Lloyd’s luxury ship Europa set off to the Mediterranean this week after a one-night habour cruise in Hamburg to celebrate its 10th birthday.
The 408-passenger ship had just ended a 14-day dry-dock, during which its suites and penthouses were refurbished, before it set sail along the River Elbe to the city’s precincts.
Along the way, white rose petals rained down on Europa, a brass ensemble played Happy Birthday and there were firework displays.
The one-night cruise sold out in days to past passengers and people keen to try the ship.
Hapag-Lloyd managing director Sebastian Ahrens admitted it was a little extravagant to mark a ship’s 10th birthday, but said the cruise was also designed to celebrate the changes made to Europa over the past decade to help attract younger passengers.
Attracting younger passengers
The fitness centre is now three times the size it was when the ship was built in 1999; there are new children’s and teens’ areas on the ship, and special excursion programmes for kids. Also, part of the self-service restaurant has been turned into a casual al-fresco grill in the evenings for passengers who don’t want to dine in the main restaurant every evening.
Ahrens said: “We have tried to attract younger passengers by changing the product rather than setting specific targets to lower the average age, because we don’t want to put off existing clients.
“Younger people like variety and want to try different restaurants each night, so we have introduced the grill and al-fresco themed dinners. It’s all free but we ask people to make reservations because as the average age has fallen, this option has become more popular.
“We also now have a personal trainer on Europa and a large golf simulator and PGA golf pro as these attract more active passengers.
“But we are very careful in the way we make changes. We limit the number of children to 40 per cruise to avoid upsetting past clients.”
Ahrens said the average age on Europa is now around 58, down from 65 in 2003, when he joined the company. He expects it to continue to fall as the German cruise market develops.
Bilingual cruises
Ahrens is also keen to attract a more international market to Europa through bilingual cruises with English-speaking lecturers and shore excursions. Some 90% of Europa‘s passengers are German-speaking, with just 3% each from the UK and US.
The bilingual cruises were launched two years ago and the response has been mixed, with most interest in special themed cruises, but Arhens said the move to get nationalities on board is strategic rather than necessary.
He said: “Europa is overbooked until Christmas on all cruises bar one, even though we don’t do any across-the-board discounting, so we can fill the ship without expanding other markets.
“But I am convinced that over the next 10-15 years we will see a shift, with guests wanting a more multi-cultural experience. I believe having different nationalities and different cultures on board adds to the cruise experience.”
A four-night, bilingual mini-cruise from Monaco next month starts at £1,413, while a 17-day voyage from Shanghai to Bangkok between March 21 and April 7 2010 costs from £5,439. Prices are per person cruise-only.
Ahrens said: “We are in a very comfortable position so I am not desperate for more international passengers but in the end I would like them to make up 25% of our business.”
Trade partners
Hapag-Lloyd is sold in the UK mainly through The Cruise Line, The Cruise People, Bath Travel and Mundy Cruising.
Ahrens said: “We need competent trade partners who can explain to clients what they are getting when they cruise with Hapag-Lloyd. We are not looking for more agents as those we work with are very comfortable selling Hapag-Lloyd, but we have got to help them to sell more.”
In addition to Europa, Hapag-Lloyd operates the 420-passenger Columbus, and two smaller expedition ships – the 184-passenger Hanseatic and 164-passenger Bremen.