Arrival & departure

Depending on availability, you can also conveniently book connecting flights for the flights we offer. Simply let us know your requirements when you make your booking. 

Depending on the airline, connection and class of travel, a surcharge may apply for the desired connecting flight, even in Economy Class. Our team will be pleased to advise you personally on all options and prices. 

Our HLC Services team will be happy to assist you with planning your individual arrival and departure – with ideas, recommendations and personal tips. Simply let us know your desired travel dates, connections or airlines, and we will create a tailor-made offer for you. 

Please note that individual travel dates and details differ from the arrival and departure services advertised by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Therefore, different conditions apply for cancellations or changes. 

We will initially accept your flight booking as a reservation until the airline confirms the seats. As soon as your flight has been approved, we will send you a flight offer with suitable connections. 

We usually allow for a transfer time of around two hours. Based on our experience, however, this is often not enough in the winter season, due to unpredictable weather conditions. We therefore advise you to allow for a more generous transfer time of up to four hours. 

You can usually book a seat for your flight with the operating airline through the HLC Services team and subject to a charge. In some cases, the flight ticket must be issued for this purpose, which may result in different costs for changes or cancellations.  

Please note that seat reservations are increasingly subject to a charge in Business Class, while seat reservations are usually subject to a charge in Premium Economy and Economy Class. Seat reservations are not possible on all flights or with all airlines, and in some cases can only be made online with a credit card. In addition, changes to booked seats may occur at any time. Fees already paid for seat reservations are generally non-refundable in the event of changes to the flight booking. 

Further information can be found on the website of the operating airline. Separate conditions apply to seat reservations at the emergency exits. 

Please refer to your flight confirmation for the baggage allowance applicable to your flights. The baggage allowance may vary depending on the fare conditions of the respective airline and is always based on the lowest baggage allowance on your individual flights.

International labour laws generally restrict the maximum weight per item of baggage to 32 kg (70.5 Ib) and the maximum dimensions to 158 cm (62 in.) (width + height + depth). Please also note the applicable hand luggage dimensions of the airlines.

Please register larger, heavier or additional items of luggage as excess baggage subject to a charge directly on the website of the operating airline in good time before departure. Payment is usually made online by credit card. 

In general, upgrades can be requested for flights booked through Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Please note that only certain booking classes allow upgrades. You can request an upgrade directly via the website of the respective airline. 

A prerequisite for an upgrade is the prior issuance of the flight ticket, which you are welcome to request from us.  

Important: once the ticket has been issued, the conditions for cancellations or changes will change. 

Please note that many airlines are increasingly replacing their check-in counters at the airport with machines. Check-in at the counter is often no longer possible and is then only used for bag drop.

We recommend that you check in online via the website of the airline you have booked with at least 48 hours before your departure. This means that you no longer need to check in at the machine and can drop off your luggage directly at your airline’s bag-drop counter on the day of departure. 

Baggage can only be dropped off with a valid boarding pass – please have this ready.  
Please note that you cannot check in online for charter flights of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. 

Prior to your travel, we require detailed information about the nature and extent of any disability so that we can organise the appropriate service at the airport if necessary. Please contact our HLC Services team for assistance. 
Please note that this request is non-binding and that the corresponding service cannot be guaranteed. 

Further information on fully accessible travel.  

You can book your ticket 3 months before departure independently through the "My Bookings" portal. For this, you will receive a voucher code for each traveler and route, which will be automatically entered in the booking process. 

If multiple participants are booked together, they can also use the ticket separately.

Rail&Fly

• By redeeming the voucher code, you are selecting the travel date and the selected train route.
• For the outward journey, you can choose either the day of departure or the day before.
  For the return journey, you can choose either the day of arrival or the day after.
• The Rail&Fly ticket is generally valid on the day of travel and until 10:00 a.m. the following day.
• The dates stated on the ticket apply.
• Within the chosen route and day, the train ticket remains flexible – you have the option to independently adjust your booked train ticket via "My Bookings" and select a different train connection.
• The rail offer applies only to routes within Germany and connections of Deutsche Bahn AG.

Rail&Cruise

• By redeeming the voucher code, you are selecting the travel date and the selected train route.
• For the outward journey, you can choose either the day of departure or the day before.
• For the return journey, you can choose either the day of arrival or the day after.
• The validity period of the ticket is 1 day for travel up to 100 km starting from the printed validity date, and 2 days for travel over 100 km. The ticket expires at 3 AM on the day following the last day of validity. For travel up to 100 km, the journey must begin on the day indicated on the ticket. However, the trips can be interrupted and continued the next day, as long as the departure and destination stations do not change.
• The dates stated on the ticket apply.
• Within the chosen route and day, the train ticket remains flexible – you have the option to independently adjust your booked train ticket via "My Bookings" and select a different train connection.
• The rail offer applies only to routes within Germany and connections of Deutsche Bahn AG.

Children aged up to 5 years can travel free of charge and do not require a voucher code. Children aged 6 to 14 years can travel for free when accompanied by an adult and require a voucher code, which must be redeemed together with the adult's voucher code. Children aged 15 and over are considered adults.

The Rail&Cruise ticket allows travelers to travel in long-distance services, including ICE, ECE, TGV, railjet express, railjet, IC, and EC, and in local transport, including IRE, RE, RB, IRE or S-Bahn, as well as on selected local railways. For more information on the validity of the ticket, please click here.

Yes, this is possible during the redemption process.

No, there is no BahnCard discount available.  

You can select your preferred seat during the redemption process. When booking a Rail&Cruise ticket, a seat reservation in 1st and 2nd class is included. For Rail&Fly, 1st class is included.

Yes, the City Ticket is included for both the departure and arrival locations.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises offers a shuttle transfer from Hamburg Central Station and Hamburg Airport to the ship during the official arrival times. On departure day, the shuttle bus returns from the ship to Hamburg Central Station and Hamburg Airport during the departure times. Please note that disembarkation occurs approximately 1,5 to 2 hours after the ship's arrival. We strongly recommend allowing sufficient time when planning your train journey and to account for enough time buffers. In particular, larger delays may occur during periods of adverse weather or traffic conditions. Please make sure to arrive at least 3 hours before departure. Remember that you are responsible for your timely arrival at the departure port. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises accepts no liability if you are unable to reach your flight or cruise as a result.

Guests who have already redeemed the voucher code for a ticket can redeem the voucher code again up to 48 hours before the travel date. For example, choose a different departure station. To do this, the guest enters the existing voucher code again, selects "Changed train travel plans?" confirms that the old ticket will be canceled by rebooking and then books a new ticket.

Cancellations can be made through our Service Center by email to service@hl-cruises.com. 

Your luggage may only contain items for personal use. It is not permitted to bring firearms, ammunition, pepper spray (including animal repellent spray) and other items that can be used as weapons on board. It is also prohibited to bring drugs, acids, hazardous chemicals, flammable substances, medical devices that do not meet the technical requirements and other hazardous goods (e.g. irons, heaters, candles) on board. Pocket or hunting knives and knives with a blade length of more than 10 cm (4 in.) may not be brought on board. For safety reasons, you are not permitted to bring your own multiple sockets and extension cables on board. We will be happy to provide you with these at Reception.

In addition, it is forbidden to bring plants with soil and roots, plant products, sand or shells on board due to the possibility of transporting insects and bacteria.

For cruises starting or ending in a German cruise departure point (Hamburg, Kiel or Travemuende), the bus transfers to/from Hamburg airport and to/from Hamburg main station are included.

You will receive more details about this with your travel documents.

We created our "Welcome Points" and "Farewell Points" at the time in order to make the time until official embarkation or disembarkation as pleasant as possible for our individually arriving and departing guests and to create an easy way to drop off luggage. We would like to optimise this procedure from winter 2023 and adapt it to the needs of our valued guests.

From now on, there will no longer be a separate "Welcome Point" or "Farewell Point", but you will be able to drop off your luggage easily and conveniently directly in the cruise terminal. You will find the address of the terminal in your travel documents at a later date. Embarkation will probably be possible at an earlier time than usual. Please note that despite the earlier embarkation time, the suites can still only be occupied from 4 pm. We are pleased to be able to welcome you on board earlier than before and are sure that we have found a pleasant solution for you as our guests.

Disembarkation normally takes place until 10.00 hrs on the scheduled disembarkation day. Earlier disembarkation may be required in exceptional circumstances (e.g. early flights home or subsequent ship docking period). For more information, please refer to your travel documents after booking and the on-board information on the evening before your departure.

If you have booked flights independently, please let us know your flight times. In this way, we will be able to establish which guests are affected in the event of flight delays or cancellations.

When planning your individually booked flights, please note the arrival and/or departure times of the ship and allow sufficient time for transfers to and from the port. We recommend that you follow the official embarkation times. Please let us know if you are going to arrive at the port later than 18.00 hrs. Departure from the pier can take place only once official approval has been granted – normally 90 minutes after the arrival of the ship or by 10.00 hrs at the earliest. Please be aware that regulations vary from port to port, and there may sometimes be unexpected delays.

If you have any further questions, please contact your travel agency or Hapag-Lloyd Cruises at:

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises,
a TUI Cruises GmbH company
Heidenkampsweg 58 
20097 Hamburg 
Germany 
Phone +49 40 307030 - 70
Fax     +49 40 307031 - 70
E-Mail  salesteam@hl-cruises.com