Cruising on the open sea is becoming increasingly popular in Germany. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, the number of cruise passengers has recently hit a new high, recovering from a decline experienced during the Corona pandemic.
In 2025 alone, approximately 1.51 million people began an open-sea cruise departing from a German port on the North or Baltic Sea. This represents a 4.1 percent increase compared to the previous year, with 1.45 million travelers. Furthermore, compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, which saw 1.33 million passengers, the increase amounts to 13.5 percent. Cruise travel was significantly impacted by travel restrictions during the pandemic.
This growing trend is not limited to Germany; cruising has seen a revival across Europe. Data provided by the EU statistical agency Eurostat suggests that in 2024, a record 8.73 million people embarked on such cruises across the European Union. This marks a 12.2 percent rise compared to the 7.78 million passengers recorded in 2023. When compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, which accounted for 7.39 million travelers, the increase reached 18.1 percent.
Regarding departure locations, Germany was the starting point for one in every six EU-based cruise travelers in 2024 (16.6 percent), securing third place among EU member states. The majority of passengers began their voyages in Italy (28.4 percent), followed by Spain (22.3 percent). Meanwhile, 13.6 percent of travelers started their journey in France, and 8.3 percent started in Greece.
