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Hamburg: Arrival vs Sailaway?


Underwatr
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Yes, the evening sail away is always more of an occasion . Many folk/locals etc will make an effort to visit the port ( especially for the QM2) late afternoon/early evening after they have finished work at the office.

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On the other hand, we've enjoyed 2 sail-aways from Hamburg, and while the views of the city were fun and interesting, the crowds on shore were underwhelming. Enjoyed the ship more than the party on shore.

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I find that it is such a shame that passengers do not get to see the magical trip down the River Elbe, especially the Willkomm-Höft and all the scenery and magnificent houses due to the time the ship usually arrives and departs Hamburg.

https://www.hamburg-travel.com/attractions/hamburg-maritime/willkomm-hoeft/

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We saw the whole journey from sea to city when we did the trip. We stood outside until we arrived at 02.30am.

 

You obviously see a lot more in Daylight Hours though. When they Welcomed you at the Willkomm-Höft did they play the National anthem ?

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We've been on QM2 twice as she departed Hamburg; one late afternoon and one in the evening.

 

There was over 500,000 people cheering and even singing "God save the Queen" over and over again.

 

The strange thing was that our next stop was Stavanger, and expecting some kind of crowd for the departure, we were to be disappointed, as the only "crowd" was one man and his dog.

 

The Hamburg evening sailaway was spectacular as there was almost an hour's worth of fireworks as we sailed down the Elbe.

 

Stewart

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There has been considerable variation in QM2's Hamburg arrival and departure times over the years. But for whatever reason, that seems to have changed recently.

 

All three of her Hamburg arrival times so far in 2018 were scheduled for 7:00am (with actual arrival times of 6:40am, 6:25am, and 6:55am).

 

Likewise, all three of her 2018 departure times so far were originally scheduled for 7:00pm, but the recent August 12, 2018 departure was rescheduled for 8:30pm to accommodate the special "Blue Port" departure discussed in another thread. Her actual departure times so far for 2018 have been 7:05pm, 7:25pm, and 8:50pm.

 

By the way, QM2 will be in Hamburg tomorrow, so that will give us one more data point.

 

Looking forward, I'm seeing the same thing for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019. All of QM2's Hamburg arrivals are scheduled for 7:00am and departures for 7:00pm. That's based on the Port of Hamburg's schedule for 2018 and itineraries posted on cruise booking web sites for 2019. Of course schedules are always subject to change, but I hope that helps somewhat with your planning, Underwatr.

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I have seen 8:00pm for the departure on October 16th.

 

Yes, indeed. Various cruise booking web sites and cruise calendar web sites are showing 8:00am arrival and 8:00pm departure for QM2 in Hamburg both for tomorrow (August 17) and for October 16, 2018. On the other hand, the Port of Hamburg web site "www.hafen-hamburg.de/en/vessels/cruise-saillinglist" is showing 7:00am arrival and 7:00pm departure for both of those dates. I guess time will tell which is correct.

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Just to follow up on my previous post, QM2 arrived at the dock in Hamburg just a few minutes before 8:00am this morning and was underway again just a few minutes after 8:00pm this evening. The various online itineraries and cruise calendars were correct rather than the Port of Hamburg web site. I suppose we should conclude that her October 16, 2018 timings for Hamburg will probably be 8:00am to 8:00pm as well.

 

I think most places are in agreement at this point that all of QM2's 2019 timings for Hamburg will be 7:00am to 7:00pm.

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Now that the cruise terminal has been moves to Steinwerder from Hafen City, there is less opportunity for people in the city center to see the departures. On our departure last year, there were a number of people lining the Elbe on the north side of the river and there were a lot of lights flashing and at one riverside hotel, people waving towels or bed sheets out the windows. Definately a departure worthy of Liverpool or Greenoch, which also impressed.

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