The port of Rostock has just about closed a record year in Warnemünde. Three calls remain, including the Marco Polo, Black Watch and Boudicca, which calls in the German port on a Christmas cruise.

The year ended with some 198 calls by 41 different ships, making it Germany’s most popular port, according to Ulrich Bauermeister, port managing director.

The calls accounted for 365,000 passengers from 28 different cruise lines.

Of the total of 365,000 cruise travellers the majority were Germans (120,000 passengers), followed by 74,000 Americans, 47,0000 British, 21,000 Spaniards, 19,000 Canadians, 12,000 Italians, 9,000 Australians and 63,0000 tourists from 142 other nations.

The ships also carried just under 140,000 crew members from 126 countries, more than one third of whom also went on shore leave.

“Fourteen percent of all cruise guests in Warnemünde, that is around 50,000, went on a day trip to Berlin by train or coach this season,” said Ulrich Bauermeister. “About 197,000 passengers set out to discover Warnemünde, Rostock or Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and 118,000 started or ended their cruise in the passenger port at the mouth of river Warnow.”

Based on a study of the spending behaviour of passengers and crew members made by Rostock University in 2010 one may assume that the cruise travellers and crew members spent at least Euro 14 million especially in local and regional shops, hotels and restaurants, on public transport, taxi rides and car parking in Warnemünde, Rostock and their environs.

Adding to this is the turnover realised through cruise shipping by coach operators, railway companies, travel agents for shore excursions, utilities, supply and disposal companies, shipping agents, pilots and port operators.

First time callers into Rostock for 2013 included the AIDAstella, which was christened in the port in March, the AIDAmar, the Voyager, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, Costa Pacific, Azamara Quest and Norwegian Star.

Eighteen of 41 ships discharged grey water at the port during 114 port calls, adding some 30,000 cubic meters of waste water to the public sewer system.

“We again expect a large number of port calls by cruise liners next year even if, in all probability, we will not manage to notch up another record for port calls”, Ulrich Bauermeister added, satisfied with the high international acceptance that Warnemünde cruise port has achieved for a number of years now.