On December 19, 2024, the last cruise ship of the season, Hanseatic Spirit, docked at the Port of Gdańsk. The vessel, owned by the TUI Cruises brand owner Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, arouses admiration both for its technical parameters and the philosophy of sustainable development. For the Port of Gdańsk, it was the end of an intensive year, during which as many as 60 cruise ships were accepted at three quays: Westerplatte, Oliwskie and WOC II.

Hanseatic Spirit is an unusual vessel - 139 meters long, 22 meters wide, 5.6 m draft and a maximum of 230 passengers, and in addition, the PC6 ice class, enabling navigation in polar regions.

- This is a young ship, only three years old, and special because its interior design and activity promote care for the seas and oceans of the world - noted Dorota Pyć, President of the Port of Gdańsk.

On board, passengers have the opportunity to participate in workshops at the so-called Ocean Academy, learning about the importance of the seas and oceans. Additionally, the interior design of the ship is designed in the spirit of sustainable development.

- This is a truly unique unit - small, but very stable and adapted to difficult conditions, such as sailing in ice - emphasized the ship's captain, Claas Fischer.

Gdańsk among favorite ports

Ships sailing on the Baltic Sea in winter are mainly expeditionary vessels. As a rule, cruises begin and end in Copenhagen. Along the way, they visit the largest Baltic ports: Ronne, Gdańsk, Klaipeda, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm.

During its winter cruise, the Hanseatic Spirit visited, among others, Copenhagen, Karlskrona and Visby before reaching Gdańsk. Captain Fischer expressed his appreciation for the infrastructure of the Port of Gdańsk:

- Everything worked smoothly. The port is well prepared, even in difficult weather conditions. At night we had 45 knots of wind and three meters of waves, but thanks to the assistance of tugboats we managed to enter the port without any problems.

Gdańsk, with its famous Old Town, the European Solidarity Center, organ concerts in the Oliwa Cathedral, is one of the favorite destinations of cruise passengers. In December, an additional attraction is the Christmas market.

Passenger ships and their passengers are mainly an income for the city. It is estimated that tourists coming to Gdańsk spend from 3 to 5 million dollars in the city annually.

Impressive cruise season

In 2024, the Port of Gdańsk received 60 cruise ships, including such giants as Marina (239 m long) or Balmoral, which hosts over 1,100 passengers on board. Each call is the result of year-round activities with shipowners, which the Port of Gdańsk conducts as part of industry organizations such as Cruise Baltic and Cruise Europe.

Passenger service would not be possible without the support of the Gdynia Maritime Agency, which has serviced 15 cruise vessels in the Port of Gdańsk this season.

In total, over 28,000 tourists have arrived in Gdańsk on board cruise ships this year. They are mainly Americans, British and Germans. There are also Poles - 31 this year.

Tradition and the future

The Port of Gdańsk has been serving cruise ships since 1995, when it accepted only two vessels with 278 passengers. Today, it is one of the most important places on the cruise map in the Baltic region.

The 2024 season ended symbolically with the visit of the Hanseatic Spirit, but work on the next year is already underway. At the Port of Gdańsk, tradition combines with modernity, and each call is another step in building a reputation on the international cruising scene.