Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is Hamburg's contribution to luxury cruising, and its flagships have long been held in high regard. Europa is the more classical of the pair, with a traditional, largely German-speaking atmosphere. Europa 2 is more contemporary and informal, with no fixed dress code, a wide choice of restaurants and announcements in both German and English.

Both are spacious for the number of guests they carry, with suites throughout. The line also runs a small fleet of modern expedition ships, built with ice-strengthened hulls for the Arctic and Antarctica and small enough to navigate rivers such as the Amazon. Selected sailings across the fleet are run in both languages, and these are the ones most suited to English-speaking travellers.