Hamburg

Within the port there are three modern cruise ship facilities, the original at HafenCity in the re-developed old warehouse area and since 2010 a second at Altona in the re-developed area of the old fish dock. The Hafen City terminal is within walking distance of the downtown area of Hamburg. The entrance is in the Westfield shopping centre.

Since 2015 The Cruise center 3 is also in operation in the port area of Steinwerder, right in the heart of the Port of Hamburg. The berth at Kronprinzkai is able to accommodate the next generation of cruise ships can dock there. Bus stop about 500m away from the terminal. The Water bus stop is nearby (not on weekends).

Some large cruise ships are using the Altona Terminal. It is not within walking distance to town, but has a very good water bus connection (#62) to the Landungsbrucken wharf, where all hop on/off buses are as well as harbor tours are starting. The Water bus stop is only 20 meters from the aft of your ship and goes every 15 minutes in day time and every 30 minutes till' midnight. 1.30 euro per trip or 6 euros for all day including all other transportation in Hamburg. The water bus in it self is already a nice site-seeing boat, and a full round trip is fun!

Most cruise lines also run shuttles (10 Euro), to the central station. Taxi is about 13 euro each way.

Distance to Hamburg Airport (Fuhlsbüttel): 9.5 km.

The s-bahn train station is located directly below the airport terminal and the trains depart every 15mins. The journey to the main train station in the city center takes about 20 min's, to Altona station about 15mins.

Video of Altona Cruise Terminal

Hotels in Hamburg.

Webcam of the harbor.

Printable map to take along.

Cruise calendar for Hamburg and where you will be docked.

Hamburg is the most visited cruise port of Germany, the nr2 to cruise port is Warnemunde and Kiel is the third port.

Three rivers - the Elbe, Alster and Bille - along with a scenic grid of narrow canals called Fleete traverse Hamburg. As if that isn't enough water, the city center boasts its very own lakes - the Inner and Outer Alster Lakes. The city center is home to most of Hamburg's main attractions. This half-moon area, which arches north of the Elbe, is bordered by a curve of roads whose names all end in wall (ramparts) and which mark the limits of the old city

Cutting through the middle is the Alsterfleet, a canal that separates the Altstadt (Old City) from the Neustadt (New City). Feeling lost? Look out for the bronze, helmet-shaped Michaeliskirche, an easily seen landmark, south of the city center.

From Landungsbrücken you can make boat tours into the harbor. These Hafenrundfahrten are available from various companies and take around an hour. Big ships provide more comfort, but smaller ships also go though the Speicherstadt. Both are well worth the money. Inquire about English language tours (Often at noon time).

Also at the Landungsbrücken you will find the u and s bahn station:

Take the s1,s2,or s3 to Jungfernstieg, the lively center of Hamburg on the Alster.

or take the u3 to Baumwall to Hafencity, currently Europe’s largest inner-city development project – is a blueprint for the development of a European city on the waterfront. For a visit with an eye cast towards the past, have a look around the Speicherstadt. The listed buildings now house leisure activities such as the Minatur Wunderland with fascinating toy railway worlds, and Hamburg Dungeon. Museums can also be found in the Speicherstadt. There is German Customs Museum (Deutsche Zollmuseum), which tells the tale of customs and smuggling in Hamburg, or the International Maritime Museum with thousands of ship models and nautical charts.

Hop on/off buses.

Taxis are dependable, but expensive.

Many cruise lines offer excursions to Berlin, a rather long trip. Check the weather forecast for Berlin before you book. Berlin is stunning on a beautiful day!

The main shopping area of Hamburg is the Mönckebergstraße in the center of the city. Take the subway to either central station, Rathaus (town hall) or Mönckebergstraße. Also check the side-street Spitalerstraße. West of town hall towards Gaensemarkt are the more pricey shops like Hugo Boss. Shops are mostly open from 10AM to 8PM and to 10PM on Thursdays and Fridays.

In Germany snacks (Schnellimbiss) are widely available, especially Bock wurst (boiled sausage), Bratwurst (grilled sausage) and Curry wurst (spiced sausage), as well as fries and hamburgers

German fast food is cheap, hearty and diverse; there are a number of sausage stands, imbisses and specialty stands; you have many options from which choose. Many of the fast food is of Turkish origin, this food is very popular for being cheap and healthy. The German's favorite Turkish fast food is the Doner Kebab; a thick pita filled generally with either chicken or beef complemented with fresh French fries and salad.

Euro. There are plenty of ATM machines around.

In smaller establishments ask first if they accept Credit Cards.

German spoken. Germans are regarded as being punctual, disciplined and last but not least, a li ttle formal. In German there are two forms of you: "Du" and "Sie." "Du" is less formal, "Sie" is more so. You almost always should use the "Sie" form and someone's last name with people you don't know.

110 -- Police Emergency 112 -- Fire Emergency or Ambulance Call

Large bookstores such as Thalia have internet facilities, as well as many cafes etc.

All stores must close no later than 8 p.m. Some close as early as 6:30 p.m. On Saturdays stores lock up at 1 or 2 p.m.; although in big city centers most stay upon until 2 or 4 p.m.

Sundays all stores are closed, except some bakeries which are open on sunday morning.

Hamburg is famous for its festivals