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Welcome to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Luxury cruises and expeditions

Be inspired by our varied range of cruises. Enjoy a cruise that leaves no wish unfulfilled – on board our luxury ships EUROPA and EUROPA 2 . Or experience an adventure like no other aboard one of our expedition ships – HANSEATIC nature , HANSEATIC inspiration or HANSEATIC spirit . No matter which ship or route you choose, wonders always await: the world ahead of us.

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New cruises.

Discover our new EUROPA 2 cruises, which promise unforgettable experiences at dream destinations around the globe.

TO THE NEW CRUISES

NEW CATALOGUE 2025/26

28 breathtaking cruises to the worlds most beautiful sides: experience the sun-drenched coasts of Europe and the colourful Caribbean as well as America in all its various facets and the South Pacific with its idyllic dream islands.

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Arctic expedition.

With our small expedition ships and Zodiacs, you will experience vast landscapes, deeply carved fjords, mighty glaciers and bizarre ice and rock formations at fascinating close quarters.

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Choose the fare that perfectly suits your individual needs. The PLATINUM, GOLD and SILVER fares each offer different levels of services and availability.

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International cruises

Our international voyages (English/German) on the EUROPA 2 and on the HANSEATIC inspiration ensure that English-speaking passengers feel comfortable from the moment they step on board. All of the documentation, e.g. confirmation, travel documents, handbooks, programmes of the day, menus, announcements and lectures as well as the safety drill and Zodiac instruction will be provided in English. We offer at least one shore excursion in English in each port of call. Approximately three months prior to the start of the cruise you will receive information about the shore excursions available in English.

More information about our international cruises on the EUROPA 2 and the HANSEATIC inspiration can be found in our English catalogues . All other catalogues are only available in German language .

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Hapag-Lloyd Cruises - The world ahead of us

Our expedition and luxury cruise ships, each with its own special character, offer hundreds of destinations, on-board and shore programmes with something for everyone whatever the spontaneous mood, attractive cruise combinations, short trips to get your feet wet as well as long voyages for epicures and experts. Flexibility and tremendous variety are outstanding characteristics of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. But one thing never changes: making your personal wishes come true and turning your visions of what a cruise should be into reality are always at the focus of our efforts. We want to make you forget your everyday cares so that you can discover how wonderful it is to live without constantly looking at the clock. A completely new kind of freedom is waiting for you. Cruises and expeditions are not only a wonderful way to travel - they are also highly individual.

Hurtigruten Expeditions Cruise Company Rebrands as HX

• September 19, 2023

Hurtigruten Group AS is taking its adventure travel brand Hurtigruten Expeditions to the next level by rebranding as HX, according to a company statement.

Hurtigruten Norway, which celebrated 130 years of operating the original Norwegian Coastal Express this summer, will continue with the iconic name but simplified to just “Hurtigruten”, maintaining the same name as when it first launched in 1893, signifying “the fast route” in Norwegian.

“The name Hurtigruten is synonymous with travel in Norway, just as it has been a renowned travel brand for over 130 years. Today’s evolution of our brand identities is the culmination of the work that started in 2021 when we split the two brands,” said Daniel Skjeldam, CEO, Hurtigruten Group. “HX will remain at the forefront of expedition cruising and sustainable travel as we continue to significantly grow its global presence while strengthening Hurtigruten’s iconic position on the Norwegian coast. With HX, we are investing in our high-end expedition itineraries to some of the most adventurous, remote places around the world, including being the only cruise liner to exclusively sail the West African archipelagos of both Cape Verde and the Bissagos Islands in this year’s most exciting new itinerary that’s launching this fall.”

The new HX brand and logo will be fully implemented starting in December, with updates to brochures, websites, and social channels; livery repainting of the fleet’s six ships will commence over the next 18 months.

According to the company, in 2020, the strategic separation of the two brands was announced to enhance operational and commercial autonomy for each business, allowing for the delivery of distinctly different guest experiences. Implementation of this separation began in 2021, and earlier this year, Hurtigruten Group completed its internal restructuring to align commercial and support functions with the dedicated ship operations. The Group also announced a fleet adjustment over the summer, shifting Hurtigruten Expeditions’ battery-hybrid-powered MS Otto Sverdrup to Hurtigruten Norway as of January 2024 while redeploying MS Maud to Antarctica due to growing demand.

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Meet the 81-year-old CEO who built a $10.4 billion luxury cruise line tailored just for baby boomers: ‘They’re the richest group we have around’

A veteran cruise attendee at just 24 years old, Julia Wilcox is used to her inbox flooding with promotional emails from cruise lines courting loyal customers. But Wilcox, who vlogs her cruise experiences on TikTok , said one cruise line takes a more idiosyncratic approach to their marketing: Two or three times a month, she’ll get thick and glossy paper envelopes in the mail from Viking Cruises, the luxury cruise line which with she took a 10-day trip in January 2023. It’s the only cruise company that sends her paper mail—and it does so persistently.

“I get so much paper mail from Viking. I’m like, this is insane,” she told Fortune . “You could send me on a free cruise for the amount of paper and things that you send me.”

While anomalous in its marketing strategy, the logic behind Viking’s insistence on sending snail mail makes more sense after Wilcox, a Gen Z TikToker, admitted she’s not the company’s target audience. In fact, she was four decades younger than the cruise guests’ median age of 60 or 70. That’s just how Viking wants it.

“They’re the richest group we have around,” Viking CEO Torstein Hagen said in a May 1 CNBC Squawk on the Street interview . “They have the money; they have the time.” 

Hagen, who at 81 surpasses his baby boomer target audience, has tailored the cruise to the tastes of the older demographic that holds 70% of the country’s disposable income . There are no kids under 18 allowed, and no casinos aboard. Instead, Viking’s line of 92 vessels—traveling to all seven continents and employing a staff of 10,000—offers walking tours of European cities and cheese tastings.

“It’s a quite serene environment for people up in their ages,” Hagen said, “and for curious people who want to go to destinations, not [who want] to go on waterslides and the like.”

Hagen’s strategy has certainly worked thus far. Viking, with a $10.4 billion valuation , raised $1.5 billion in its initial public offering on May 1, the highest of any company this year. Per an SEC filing from last month, Viking experienced 14.4% growth from 2015 to 2023, the biggest leap of any luxury river or ocean cruise during that period.

“We have a very, very clear focus, and that is reflected in all our customer ratings, the rewards we get, and so forth,” Hagen told CNBC. “It doesn’t make us as large as the others, but it certainly makes us more attractive to the consumer.” 

Viking did not respond to Fortune ‘s request for comment.

The precision and analytical approach Hagen brings to the company reflects his initial pursuit of physics from the Norwegian Institute of Technology before he came to the U.S. and got his MBA at Harvard. Originally from outside of Oslo, the Norwegian developed his business intuition through failure before success. As CEO of cruise line Royal Viking in the 1980s, Hagen arranged for a $240 million management buyout that failed when a competitor made a surprise purchase of the company. He was soon ousted from the role .

Hagen, who operates the company alongside daughter Karine Hagen, founded Viking in 1997 at 54. He considered it a humble venture composed of  “two guys with two mobile phones and four river ships,” according to the company prospectus . From its maiden voyage, Viking’s goal was, in Hagen’s words , to be a thinking person’s cruise, not a drinking person’s cruise.

Viking has benefited from opportune timing for the cruise industry, namely its recovery from pandemic lockdowns that had wealthy vacationers itching for indulgent respites. Patrick Scholes, managing director of lodging and leisure equity research at Truist Securities, is bullish on the industry’s future because of that high demand.

“People want a vacation,” he told Fortune . “They’re looking for something different that they hadn’t done for the first two, three years of COVID, which certainly was going on a cruise ship.”

Cruises developed a reputation during the pandemic, as their closed quarters, conducive to contagious disease, sometimes resulted in boats docking early . Even Viking took a hit after 100 passengers on a June 2023 cruise battled norovirus. Companies sweetened deals to win back customers, offering discounts and promises of private beaches. While restaurants and hotel resorts were slow to recover from the pandemic because of labor shortages , cruise ships’ presence on foreign waters meant not having to abide by U.S. wages and employing ample staff of mostly foreign workers. During Wilcox’s Viking cruise, she marveled at the consistent and frequent turndown and cleaning services.

“In that value proposition is the high, consistent level of staffing and service on a cruise ship,” Scholes said. “You’ve been to a restaurant, you’ve been to a hotel—staffing is a problem, is a challenge after COVID. And cruise lines have not had that problem.”

Bob Levinstein, CEO of travel agency CruiseCompete, told Fortune Viking especially lives up to its value promise, mastering food, service, excursions, and communication into a reliable product.

“They just really have it nailed down,” he said.

More growth for the company is on the way. Having weathered the pandemic, Viking has 24 ships on order , an option for another dozen, and ambitious plans to expand its Chinese customer base to 150,000 passengers by 2025. Viking’s resilience in a tough time for the industry made the decision to go public a no-brainer for Hagen.

“The private equity firms, at some stage, have to create liquidity from their investments, and they’ve been in now for eight years—so it was as good a time as any,” Hagen told Fortune last month. “During the pandemic, it was not easy, and I think now coming out of that and having good results, that was the natural thing to do.”

But tides turn, and the economic waters buoying the cruise business are no exception. As cruise companies accommodate growing demand by commissioning more ships, the promotional packages and companies’ pricing power will ebb, Scholes predicted.

“This is just economic capitalism,” he said. “Come 2029, we’re going to see a lot of new ships, and that’s going to be a lot of cabins to fill. It’ll be difficult to raise prices.”

There’s a reason for Viking to stay level-headed through the industry’s maturation, Levinstein argued. The company’s $1.5 billion IPO was well timed, he said, but it likely won’t make waves for Viking’s future. It’s likely just a way for ownership to stay liquid and pad their wallets.

“That’s only about four of the ocean ships—maybe a little less if prices have gone up since they made their last deal,” he said. “But it’s not game-changing money.”

The cruise’s humble but established amenities aren’t foolproof, either. “The food definitely was a miss,” Wilcox said of her time aboard a Viking, resulting in the “worst” room service hot dog she’d “ever had.” She heard from other cruisers that the specialty menus the cruise promised to change nightly, but the food items offered have been the same for a decade.

The slip-up in Viking’s reputation of rock-solid amenities may be a strike against the “cookie-cutter” model Hagen touts as a reason for the cruise line’s success, but the CEO remains clear-eyed on the company’s philosophy of streamlined, steadfast service.

“In my belief, the moment you try to do everything for everybody, you know what happens?” he said. “You do nothing well.” 

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Cruise founder Kyle Vogt is back with a robot startup

Kyle Vogt, the former founder and CEO of self-driving car company Cruise, has a new VC-backed robotics startup focused on household chores.

Vogt announced Monday that the new startup, called the Bot Company, has raised $150 million from former GitHub CEO and investor Nat Friedman, Pioneer founder and investor Daniel Gross, Spark Capital general partner Nabeel Hyatt, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Stripe co-founder John Collison and Quiet Capital.

Vogt founded the startup with Paril Jain, who led the AI tech team at Tesla, and former Cruise software engineer Luke Holoubek.

“We’re building bots that do chores so you don’t have to. Everyone is busy. Bots can help,” Vogt wrote on social media X . “So many things compete for our time — commutes, longer working hours, and the complexities of modern life. Our team has spent years building robots (including the self-driving kind) that give people some of that time back, and we’re taking that a step further with this company.”

Vogt did not respond to a request for comment.

The new endeavor comes five months after Vogt resigned as CEO of Cruise , the autonomous vehicle startup that he founded in 2013 and was later acquired by General Motors. His resignation followed an October 2 incident that saw a Cruise vehicle run over and drag a pedestrian 20 feet, after the pedestrian had been hit by a human-driven car. The event, coupled with the company’s response, prompted California regulators to suspend Cruise’s deployment and driverless testing permits, effectively  ending its robotaxi operations  in the state where the bulk of its operations were located.

Since his resignation, Vogt has maintained a relatively low public profile. His return, however, shouldn’t surprise those who have followed his career. Prior to Cruise, Vogt had co-founded Justin.tv, a website that allowed anyone to broadcast video online; it later morphed into Twitch, a live-streaming platform acquired by Amazon in 2014 for $970 million. He also founded Socialcam, which was acquired by Autodesk for $60 million in 2012.

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Seasoned cruisers know you can take your travel up a level by boarding a themed cruise, exploring the seas with those with the same passions and interests as you.

Whether you adore the cheesy Christmas movies that come out every year or you're a hip-hop fanatic, here are some of the top-themed cruises sailing out of Florida over the next year.

Big Nude Boat

The " Big Nude Boat " cruise is an 11-day adventure set for 2025 on the Norwegian Pearl, departing from the Port of Miami on Feb. 3 and returns to the same port on Feb. 14 (just in time for Valentine's Day).

"Bare Necessities’ newest nude cruise is a private island double-dip with a brand new travel partner," the company wrote on its website .

The itinerary includes stops at the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia. Rates for an inside cabin start at $2,000 per person and go to up to $33,000 for a top room.

Guests are encouraged to park their bare behinds on towels provided on board in areas including the pool deck and the buffet area, according to the website.

"Passengers can easily follow our rule on nudist etiquette by always placing a towel down before sitting," it reads. "Remember to pack a swimsuit; not all excursions are clothing optional."

In My Cruise Era

The “ In My Cruise Era … ” is a  Taylor Swift-themed cruise  that is set to launch from Port of Miami on Oct. 21,

The cruise, on a Royal Caribbean ship, leaves for the Bahamas the day after Swift's final show of her three-day stop in Miami. According to the website, the cruise fare includes stateroom accommodations, dinner in the main dining room nightly as well as additional buffet and a la carte options around the ship. It also includes entertainment.

All aboard the Taylor Swift ship! Popstar-themed cruise sets sail in Florida next year

"This cruise is for all fans, so bring your besties, your moms and dads, your baby fans, and if you need someone to room with, post on our page and ask," the organizers wrote on the  website .

The itinerary, though not finalized and "subject to change," includes:

• " We can’t make any promises now can we babe, but you can make me a drink " Welcome Cocktail Party
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• " I don't wanna dance if I'm not dancing with you " ThemedDance Party
• " Heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly " Themed Karaoke
• " Can I ask you a question? " Taylor Trivia
• "Lately she’s been dressing for revenge " Nightly eras outfit themes

Halloween on the High Seas on the Disney Cruise Line

Looking for a more family-friendly option? The Disney Cruise line has you covered.

The Disney Cruise Line will offer its " Halloween on the High Seas " cruises in September and October. Patrons can choose from sailings ranging from 3-7 days, most of which travel to the Bahamas or the Caribbean islands. The Halloween-themed cruise is offered on four of the Disney cruise ships, including the Disney Magic, Disney Wish, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.

While on board the Halloween on the High Seas cruise, AAA writes guests will enjoy magical, spooktacular entertainment every day, such as:

• Meet and greets with your favorite Disney characters, all decked out in their own Halloween costumes.
• Halloween parties with Mickey, Minnie and the whole gang.
• Ghoulish menus at every meal.

Hallmark Christmas Cruise

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The Christmas cruise will take place aboard the Norwegian Gem Cruise Ship, a 965-foot Jewel-class ship.

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Rock the Bells Cruise

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MCs, DJs, and producers will lead nonstop parties and live performances on the Norwegian Gem from Nov. 13 through 17. The cruise leaves from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau.

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Sailing on Royal Caribbean's  Serenade of the Seas  from Tampa to Cozumel, participants will interact with Comic-Con icons and attend nonstop activities on board, such as cosplay events, trivia, parties and more

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• George Takei
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Star Trek - The Cruise

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Sailing on Royal Caribbean International's Explorer of the Seas, the Star Trek cruise will sail from Miami on Feb. 23-through March 2 of 2025. Passengers will head to Costa Maya, Cozumel and Belize.

"Each night of the cruise celebrates a different dimension of the Star Trek experience and, since the cruise's debut in 2017, guests have knocked it out of the park with show-stopping costumes," U.S. News writes.

Norwegian: Ultimate Disco Cruise

Dig out those old bell-bottom pants and practice your dance moves while you have time!

Norwegian Cruise Line Ultimate Disco Cruise leaves from Miami on Feb. 19 through 24, 2025. During this groovy cruise, you will travel aboard the Norwegian Pearl to ports of call such as Cozumel and Costa Maya. Awhile attending the hottest disco parties along the high seas.

AAA notes these are some of the performers and guests that are going to be on board alongside you:

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• The Spinners
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When is the best time to cruise?

Here are AAA’s trend forecasts for the best times to cruise in 2024, according to the kind of cruise you choose:

• The Caribbean  is popular year-round, but spring and summer are the most popular sailing times. 
• Alaska cruise  season runs from May to September. Because this is an abbreviated period, there’s more competition for availability.  
• Weekend cruises  have gained popularity in recent years. Weekend warriors have realized the value an all-inclusive cruise compared to a weekend getaway in a big city resort. Cruise lines have recognized this growing trend and are making weekend cruises more of a priority in 2024, by mobilizing some of their newest ships to accessible ports for weekend excursions. 
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I'm a CEO who ran my company from a cruise ship for a month. It requires a lot of discipline, but I'd do it again.

• Tony Fernandes, CEO of UEGroup, managed his company from a cruise ship for 21 days.
• Fernandes experienced challenges with slow internet and communication but found workable solutions.
• Despite the hurdles, he finds value in being offline at times and plans to continue cruising.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tony Fernandes, a 60-year-old founder and CEO of UEGroup based in San Francisco, about his experience working remotely on a cruise ship. It's been edited for length and clarity.

My wife and I are in the post-kid, post-pet phase of our lives. Our kids have gone off to college and we had a beloved dog and house rabbits that have passed away. After they passed, that really opened up a window for us to travel — and we did — but extended travel is new for us.

In November, I embarked on a trip where I spent several weeks leading my company from a cruise ship with my wife. We ultimately circumnavigated the globe on two different cruises and with air travel. Leaving California, we went through Europe, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan.

It's been a cool experience. But I found that while working on the ship , you do need some discipline — especially on a 21-day cruise.

You have to create a time for work and a time for play

We didn't realize it, but when we upgraded our internet, it upgraded our drinks package. So, it turned out we could get bottles of Moët & Chandon Champagne for free.

We had a couple of lunches and dinners where we enjoyed Champagne , but we also developed a rhythm where we had work time and playtime. It wasn't rigid — but there were times when my wife, who does finance at UEGroup, and I knew we had to get things done.

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Working can set you apart from people who are on vacation. That doesn't mean you can't work in your bathing suit or have a beer before you start your work, but it puts you on a slightly different footing than some of the other people on the cruise.

Expect very slow internet service

One thing I didn't realize prior to the trip was that the cruise ship had only one satellite connection shared by thousands of people. The internet was oppressively slow at times.

For our next long trip, I'm looking into getting a data satellite phone so I can put an antenna on my patio facing the right direction for the satellite. I've still got to figure it out, but there were times when it was really important for us to communicate, and we couldn't.

We're now very mistrustful of statements the cruise lines make about the quality of their internet. For example, we upgraded our Internet, but it turned out the cruise line's definition of upgrading was that we could have more than one device, not that there was any better speed or reliability. You've got to read the fine print about how they define an upgrade.

I would also recommend asking what kind of download and upload speeds to expect.

Create a backup plan for meetings and other communication challenges

Internet access can be unpredictable even with research and planning ahead, so we had backup people for important meetings back at the office. If we weren't able to show up, there was someone prepared with the slide deck. I can't say it didn't create awkward moments at times — and it is one of the downsides — but you can plan for it the best you can.

When my wife was dealing with a bank and needed to get a two-factor authentication code without working SMS, there wasn't much she could do. So, that was a challenge as well.

At some points, I was forced to go ashore and buy SIM cards to leverage local cell service, but this requires research. Depending on the country there might only be one cellphone service that works there, or you might be able to get SIM card brands that work for a larger area.

Being offline can end up being a good thing

I find it hard to be offline, but because the connectivity was so bad sometimes, it just forced it to happen. We were in the middle of nowhere, and it wasn't going to change. In a way, being offline was good because I could just tune out.

My wife and I plan to cruise more in the future and even recently bought a home in Portugal near a cruise port that we're going to commute to using cruises as much as possible.

When we did the math, taking a cruise from California to Portugal was less than two business-class air travel tickets. Plus, you get meals, entertainment, and no jet lag — it seems like the way to go.

If you live or work on a cruise ship and would like to share your story, please email [email protected] .

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