The first deep-sea cruise for Germans after the Corona forced break – and hardly anyone is there. Friday morning at the Cruise Center in Hamburg’s HafenCity begins unspectacularly. The MV “Fridtjof Nansen” of the Norwegian shipping company Hurtigruten towers on the quay. Today, only 160 passengers will check in – 350 should have been allowed on the 530-person ship. In the afternoon they set off for the Norwegian fjords, Lofoten Islands and North Cape and landed in Hamburg again 15 days later.
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The Norwegian shipping company Hurtigruten would have liked to present its brand new expedition ship to the press, the sister ship that went into service just a year ago “Roald Amundsen” with its hybrid engine is a specialty among the new buildings. That was actually planned for April 1st. Then Corona came. Even today, the Port Authority of Hamburg did not want to see the few journalists and the press officers on board, the captain is not allowed to leave the ship and come to the press conference on the quay on the black and red bow. Still Corona.
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And due to the virus, the spread of which has still not stopped in Germany, Hurtigruten has to advertise its security measures. Anyone looking for contacts during the cruise has bad chances: distance must be maintained at all times. The “Fridtjof Nansen”, hardly from the shipyard, has therefore already made the first small modifications.
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Plastic dividers are now installed at the reception, as can be seen in the photos, stickers on the floor indicate the distance (“1 m”). “I put every single sticker on the ship myself,” says hotel manager Florian Kibgilka, “no joke!” Every second table in the restaurants is blocked, he says, the bar is closed, there are no more buffets. Capacity restrictions apply in the sauna, pool and fitness rooms. The Norwegian health authorities, on the other hand, do not consider it necessary to wear a mask on board, only where things can get tight.
Fever test at check-in
She feels “super good” before starting her cruise, says Mechthild Schäfer. She has no qualms about going on board: “I know that Hurtigruten has high standards.” The 66-year-old has been traveling with the Norwegians since 2003. Together with her husband, she came from Nidda and is now standing in front of the terminal with two large suitcases. They actually wanted to go to the “Fram” in summer – canceled because of Corona. Then with the “Fridtjof Nansen” to Iceland – canceled.
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Now the couple is among the exclusively German passengers who first have to fill out a Corona questionnaire and pass the fever test at check-in before they can distribute themselves in the 264 cabins and three restaurants of the 140-meter-long ship. They paid between 4900 and 15,000 euros per person.
161 crew members are there for you, 18 of them are responsible for entertainment and excursions. However, shore leave, as is usually the case in Bergen, Tromsö or the North Cape, is not possible on this first of six tours from Hamburg. Until July 15, the quarantine requirements for Germans still apply in Norway.
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As long as the on-board program consists mainly of looking out of the window or from the deck of fjords, mountains and the sea. There are also workshops and lectures, dinghy excursions, stand-up paddling and kayaking. “And aquavit tastings,” says Kibgilka. “Fridtjof Nansen” will only encounter cruise ships from other shipping companies that otherwise take advantage of midsummer on the Arctic Circle. Mechthild Schäfer is not bothered by this: “We don’t need city visits, the main thing is nature,” she says.
Hurtigruten never stopped operating with its state contract for the postal ships – while Aida, TUI Cruises, MSC and all other shipping companies around the world gradually announced bad news and cancellations and ships like the “Diamond Princess” in Tokyo or “Mein Schiff 3” in Cuxhaven were in quarantine with infected passengers or crews on board. The corona crisis ended the boom in the entire international cruise industry. The Spanish shipping company Pullmantur has just filed for bankruptcy under ex-TUI Cruises boss Richard Vogel, and it is not the first.
Hurtigruten has not carried out cruises for a long time either, only the postships had some passengers on board. It is only since June 16 that Norwegians have been able to sail along the coast from Bergen with ships like the “Finnmarken”. The shipping company benefits from the experience with the Corona measures there, says Kibgilka.
Other shipping companies also want to start again
Hurtigruten initially wants to offer certain ships and certain routes for safety only for predominantly one nationality – the first was the Norwegians (and Danes), now it’s the Germans. It is still unclear who will be allowed to cruise into the fjords afterwards. Only 350 of the 530 berths of the “Fridtjof Nansen” are awarded – even when that changes depends on the course of the corona crisis.
Other shipping companies like TUI Cruises would also like to get started again, the Hamburgers announced mini-cruises on the North Sea with their ships, which can accommodate up to 3000 people. However, a start is currently only in the room from July 17, just as at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Aida has canceled all trips until at least July 31, MSC and Costa as well. Only rivers on rivers are now available again, for example at Nicko Cruises or Arosa. And all providers and their association Clia are rotating to decide and establish measures against Sars-CoV-2.
“It is important to send a signal that cruising is possible again,” says Heiko Jensen, VP Sales Europe at Hurtigruten, on the Hamburg quay, “at least the expedition trips with the smaller ships.” Today, twice as many passengers could have traveled on the MS “Fridtjof Nansen” with the destination North Cape, nothing more has registered since the start of the booking ten days ago.
The next five trips are in high demand, says Jensen, and the booking situation for 2021 is actually very good. The shipping company is responding to the high level of interest in Germany and will be stationing “Otto Sverdrup” (now “Finnmarken”) in Hamburg from January. Corona’s cancellations seem to fuel demand.
Passenger Jörg Schatzschneider has mixed feelings before leaving for the “most beautiful fjords under the midnight sun”, as Hurtigruten says. He was looking forward to the rest and switching off on his balcony. He actually works at the reception of Aida ships and is now on forced leave. He is interested in the hybrid ship, he says, and how Hurtigruten implements measures to protect against infection. No, he says and laughs, Aida didn’t send him to spy on the Norwegians.
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