FTI has officially taken possession of the FTI Berlin in Genoa today, and is working to get the ship ready for her May 21 maiden voyage. Dietmar Gunz, CEO of the German tour company and his management team were on hand to receive the ship. The first cruise sails from Genoa via Malta to Venice. The Berlin will spend the summer in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

Among the new features aboard the Berlin will be a Bavarian beer garden on the top deck. “Since we are headquartered in Munich, we have allowed ourselves to introduce some local flavor,” Kunz said.

According to FTI, the Berlin is already 80 percent booked from May through October.

Photo (from left):  Vassilis Chatziioannou, manager of hotel operations for the FTI Berlin; Dietmar Gunz, CEO of the FTI Group; George Stathopoulos, managing director, FTI Cruises Hellas; Nikos Toumazatos, chief engineering; Thimios Sokos, captain; Nikolaos Athanasiadis, manager of port operations; Theodore Kontes, technical advisor (third from the right); and Alexander Gessl, managing director, FTI Austria (all the way to right); together with managers of the previous operator, Saga Cruises.