Hapag-Lloyd offers bilingual cruises with a German accent

Hapag-Lloyd may be the world's oldest cruise brand. The company's cruise business dates back to the late 19th Century, when Albert Ballin--director of the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft (HAPAG)--came up with a new idea: sending people on voyages for pleasure, and not just using the ships to take people from one place to another. When HAPAG's Augusta Victoria set sail in January, 1891 for the Mediterranean and the Orient, its voyage was the first documented pleasure cruise in history.

Today, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world's top luxury-cruise lines, with four ships that cover the globe: the Europa, Hanseatic, C. Columbus, and Bremen. In recent years, the company has been working to attract an English-speaking audience, and it now offers bilingual (German and English) cruises on any sailing that has been booked by 25 or more English-speaking guests. Certain voyages are guaranteed to be bilingual: In 2007, each of the four ships will have at least three guaranteed German/English itineraries (for a total of 12). Also, four voyages in fall, 2006 have already been set aside for a bilingual audience:

C. Columbus, Chicago-Toronto, Oct. 11-21 (10 days)

Europa, Rome-Istanbul, Oct. 22 - Nov. 5 (14 days)

Europa, Funchal-Ft. Lauderdale, Nov. 30 - Dec. 14 (14 days)

Europa, Ft. Lauderdale-Ft. Lauderdale, Dec. 14-22 (8 days)

For more information on these and other Hapag-Lloyd cruises, visit the company's Web site at www.hl-cruises.com.