MS Hamburg

MS Hamburg is a passenger cruise ship registered in the Bahamas, owned by Conti Group (construction corporation) and operated by Plantours Kreuzfahrten (cruise line based in Germany). Part of Plantours' cruise fleet is also the river ships Andrey Rublev (Russia), MS Elegant Lady and Sans Souci.

Plantours Kreuzfahrten ms Hamburg itinerary program offers Mediterranean cruises departing from La Valletta (Malta) and Istanbul (Turkey). Other itineraries are operated in the Red Sea, Asia, Iceland, Greenland, Canary Islands, Africa and the Caribbean.

Shipboard facilities

The Bremen-based organizer Plantours & Partner offers voyages on rivers and seas. For ocean cruises, the company has in operation the popular MS Hamburg accommodating up to 400 passengers in 197 cabins and suites, spread across 5 of ship's 6 decks. All accommodations are equipped with air-conditioning system, TV, radio, telephone, safe, mini bar, desk,  bathrobe and hair-dryer. Five of the staterooms are designed for families. There are also 2 balcony cabins and 2 wheelchair-accessible (with ground-level entrance, accessible bathroom with fold-out shower seat and WC with holding rails, electronically adjustable bed, pull-out sofa bed for accompanying person). The service is in German. Dining options include 2 restaurants, 3 bars and 2 cafés.

Built 1997 in Wismar, Germany, the cruise ship MS Hamburg features a relatively small size that allows it to transit the North America's Great Lakes. In this destination, the ship operated seasonally between 1997-2011, as well as in other regions worldwide. Previously known as "ms Columbus", the ship was replaced in the Hapag-Lloyd cruise fleet by "ms Columbus 2" (now Oceania Insignia).

Among the most serious Hamburg cruise ship accidents are:

• April 2015 - suffered damage caused by an oil leak. The following scheduled itineraries were cancelled.
• May 2015, a fishing net became tangled in the vessel's propeller off England's South East coast. The ship was diverted to Southampton for inspection. Also in May 2015, due to strong winds, the ship grounded near the Isle of Mull (UK). Because of the needed repairs, the ship was out of service until August. The shipowner Plantours had to charter ms Deutschland to continue operations.

The cruise ship's last drydock refurbishment was in Portugal (at Lisnave Shipyard, Setubal). For the USD 20 million project Plantours planned regular technical maintenance works as well as extensive technical modifications and modernization. During the drydocking (April 2 - May 1) were added French Balconies (infinity windows) to 42 passenger staterooms. The electric-powered windows are slide-down opening and when lowered open to a glass railing.

During drydock 2020 all staterooms and public areas received new carpeting. Redesigned and refurnished were Palm Garden Lounge (deck 6 forward), Lobby Reception (deck 3) and Wine Bar (deck 5), which was additionally expanded by using the Boutique Shop's space. On Lido Deck (deck 6) the sundeck area received new flooring and a new pool bar was installed.