The Hotel Detective has never heard this line from a hotel general manager or the head of a cruise line.
“We are wasting space. That’s our concept.”
The speaker is Julian Pfitzner, the head of product development for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, and to his baby, the Europa 2, Hapag-Lloyd’s top of the line ship and the only liner to get five stars from the 2018 Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships, considered the Bible of cruise guides. Specifically, he is referring to the fact that the ship offers one of the highest passenger-space ratios of any cruise ship, a key index of luxury at sea. Translation: Even when full, the ship never seems crowded.
Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten, MS EUROPA 2, Grand Suite
The Europa 2 scored 1,863 points out of a possible 2,000, the most for a cruise ship in the 251-750-passenger category. (The Europa 2 carries 500 passengers.) The guide’s editor has called the ship “the benchmark of cruising.” “It’s the best cruise line in the world that you’ve never heard of,” says Pfitzner, referring to the fact that the name is associated with the container-ship line. But Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is now an independent company based in Hamburg.
Here’s just one proof of how seriously Hapag-Lloyd takes maintaining the Europa 2’s luxury level. By law, it is only required to go into drydock every five years, but the ship goes into drydock in Hamburg every two years, just to maintain the standard–wh...