15 December 2020

Pallets of Christmas decorations and “Home Alone” in the theatre

Festivities on board the EUROPA 2 in the build up to Christmas.

The smell of festive cooking such as roast goose and Christmas biscuits, floats around the ship. Nevertheless, the build up to Christmas on EUROPA 2 feels quite different this year for the crew. Travel Concierge Sandra Griffel gives us her insights into the preparations on board.

Early December in the port of Tenerife: Christmas preparations on board Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Europa 2 are in full swing. It starts with decorating the entire ship. Colleagues from Housekeeping and Reception take care and pay great attention to detail when decorating all the decks. Each floor has its own colour scheme and the teams unpacked 41 pallets of Christmas decorations, weighing 5,720 kilograms this year. It takes two weeks to decorate all the trees and find just the right place for the other decorations. Surprisingly only 10 baubles were broken during the process.

The kitchen team is also getting ready. In addition to the traditional biscuit baking and the creation of gingerbread houses, chef Timon Lohrengel is designing a special festive treat: Guests can be sure that on board it will soon smell deliciously of roast goose.

Strengthening the team

As there were no guests on board at the end of November, the crew spent this time differently than in previous years. The team hosted joint events such as a crew BBQ, to strengthen their ways of working. Normally, it’s the guests who relax on board, but this year the crew also got a chance to do so.

Our crew is made up of many nationalities and therefore there are very different Christmas traditions. Colleagues’ traditions vary, but at the heart we all share the same values of family, cosiness and taking time. It’s also about the small things, for example the opening of the first door of the Advent calendar. Each crew member received a calendar as a surprise in his or her cabin. Regardless of whether young or old – everyone feels a little bit festive while opening their Advent calendar.

Christmas cinema on the pool deck

Another highlight for the crew in the build up to Christmas was the “EUROPA 2 Cinema” under the stars. Technicians set up a large screen on the outdoor deck of the ship so teams could enjoy watching the Christmas classic "Home Alone", which was accompanied by wine. The wine wasn’t mulled, but chilled to match the warm temperatures at the port of Tenerife.

This event finally got all crew members into the Christmas spirit. The effort and dedication of the entire crew paid off and it is no longer possible to deny that Christmas is just around the corner. It won't be as lively as previous years. But despite everything, it will be a very special and peaceful Christmas here on board the EUROPA 2.

And then the time finally arrived, when we could welcome guests on board again. On 4 December, the first voyage of the EUROPA 2 set sail through the island world of the Canaries. Of course, with intensive hygiene and safety measures, needed in these times of Coronavirus. You can find more about our 10-point plan here.