Happy birthday, cruise!
Cuxhaven, January 22, 1891: The "Augusta Victoria" sets sail with 174 passengers and 245 crew members. This time, however, it was not on a liner service on the stormy North Atlantic route, but was heading to the Mediterranean for pure pleasure. The luxury liner will be underway for just under two months, making the journey its destination.
It is the world's first cruise - and a rather expensive affair: the cabins cost 1,600 to 2,400 gold marks - equivalent to around 28,500 to 42,800 euros today. And yet the voyage organized by Albert Balin, the young director of the "Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft" (HAPAG), was a huge success. The HAPAG of that time still exists. Today it travels the world's oceans as Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. And the success has remained with the shipping company: With the "Europa" and the "Europa 2", two of the four ships have the highest rating of "5 stars plus"! However, the Hanseatic company has not been cruising without competition for a long time: Some 350 cruise ships with around 400,000 beds are currently underway around the globe. Some of them are still committed to the good old seafaring tradition. Others have long since thrown the dress code and captain's dinner overboard and instead offer casual, family-friendly club vacations at sea. Or they focus on singles, nudists, heay-metal fans, golfers, cyclists ... Everyone can now find "their" ship, in every size and price range. And just like the passengers on board the "Augusta Victoria" back then, every "modern cruiser" will still stand on deck when they first set sail, let the sea breeze blow around their nose, watch the land disappear on the horizon and look forward to a vacation without solid ground under their feet. It's a good thing that some things never change ...
![[Translate to en:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/3/csm_Karibik_Kachel_Website_bd14d92320.png "[Translate to en:]")
![[Translate to en:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_csm_Burj_Khalifa_6aa4204cda_c60dbba775.png "[Translate to en:]")
![[Translate to en:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/6/csm_2_prb23_0733_web_230fecf93e.jpg "[Translate to en:]")
![[Translate to en:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/3/csm_Karibik_Kachel_Website_4fa96af5ad.png "[Translate to en:]")
![[Translate to en:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/c/csm_csm_Burj_Khalifa_6aa4204cda_6e24649320.png "[Translate to en:]")
![[Translate to en:]](/fileadmin/_processed_/5/6/csm_2_prb23_0733_web_8dbd0bd4df.jpg "[Translate to en:]")