Because the steamship Augusta Victoria of the Hamburg-America Packet Shipping Company (HAPAG) was not fully booked in January 1891, the head of HAPAG, Albert Ballin, sent her on a two-month “educational and pleasure voyage” from Hamburg to the Mediterranean and as far as Egypt. He even joined the journey himself. Everyone around him said he was crazy, but the trip – with caviar served on board every single day – was a huge success. When the ship returned, word quickly spread, and in 1899 Albert Ballin had the first vessel built in Hamburg that was designed exclusively for cruises: the “Prinzessin Victoria Louise.”
Today, Hamburg has three cruise centers and is considered one of the world’s cruise hotspots, featuring one of the most modern cruise terminals in HafenCity, integrated into Hamburg’s largest shopping mall, Westfield. You can see a model of the Prinzessin Victoria Louise and many other ships at the International Maritime Museum in HafenCity.