The Cruise Center Steinwerder is Hamburg’s most modern cruise terminal and operations started in June 2015. The two separate terminal buildings have capacities to handle more than 8,000 passengers per ship visit. The terminal accommodates cruise ships of the latest generation with a length of up to 340m and a draught of more than 10m. The terminal is equipped with OPS (offers shore power from renewable energies).

The Cruise Center Altona started operations in 2011. The terminal accommodates cruise ships up to a length of 300m and a draught of up to 9.9m. The terminal building with its huge glass front offers a spectacular view of Hamburg’s port. It is also open to visitors who can enjoy the panoramic view from the roof top terrace. The Cruise Center Altona offers shore power (renewable energies).

Hamburg remains a top destination: With over 1.3 million passengers in 2024, the record from the previous season in 2023 was surpassed by about 100,000 passengers.

Senator for Economic Affairs Dr. Melanie Leonhard: "For over 1.3 million cruise passengers, Hamburg was the starting point for wonderful holiday experiences and journeys last year. We are delighted to be the host and, as Germany's largest cruise port, to be the gateway to the world for many guests. Maritime tourism is increasingly becoming an economic factor for us as well – and the development of cruise tourism goes hand in hand with the development of sustainability standards. Hamburg is a pioneer in supplying ships with sustainably generated shore power. By creating infrastructure early on, all shipping companies now know about Hamburg's reliable offer and include it in their planning and ship equipment. The result: Increasingly, the engines are turned off, and the cruise ships use Hamburg's clean shore power. Good for the environment, the passengers, and all residents alike!"

Hamburg will also remain a leader in shore power supply in 2024: 129 calls were supplied with shore power. It is no longer just individual ships that are shore power-capable – due to the experiences of recent years, entire fleets and all new builds are increasingly being equipped to receive shore power according to our standard in Hamburg and elsewhere. The shore power offer in Hamburg is attractive: The majority of calls with shore power-capable ships (71%) actually used the shore power.

As a result, the vast majority of cruise ship calls in Hamburg are supplied with shore power.

6.5 gigawatt hours of power were supplied from shore. The power comes from renewable sources, allowing the ship engines to be turned off – resulting in a saving of 3,150 tons of CO2 – equivalent to the annual consumption of almost 2,000 average combustion engine cars.

The ship with the most shore power usage was the AIDAprima, followed by the MSC Preziosa.

Additionally, 2024 also saw the successful start of shore power supply in the container segment. Hamburg is thus the first port in Europe to offer shore power for both segments. Together with the shipping companies, many of which are using shore power for container ships for the first time, valuable experiences were gained in processes, procedures, and system improvements. We are once again leading the way in developing experiences here in Hamburg for worldwide application. At the same time, the first supplies and test runs saved nearly 900 tons of CO2.