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Editorial Cruise Ship Wiki's take on MS Europa
MS Europa holds the rarest distinction in the cruise guide business: a five stars plus rating from the Berlitz Cruise Guide, the highest grade that guide awards, held for more than a decade, for much of that run as the only ship in the book. Delivered by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki in September 1999, she measures 28,890 gross tons and carries 408 guests in 204 outside suites, roughly seventy tons of ship per guest, served by about 280 crew. The governing idea is small, all suite, and built for a German speaking clientele rather than an international one.
The restaurant list carries most of the ambition. Dieter Mueller, overseen by the three Michelin star chef, sits alongside the Italian Venezia and the main Europa Restaurant, with the Lido Cafe for casual meals beside a pool half covered by a retractable glass roof. The public rooms are compact and specific: the Havana Bar for cigars and rums, Sansibar for late dancing, the Belvedere Lounge on Deck 8 for afternoon tea, the Clipper Lounge, and the Europa Lounge, a theatre that seats every guest aboard in one sitting. Ocean Spa on Deck 7, a two level fitness centre above the pool and a golf simulator round out the rest.
The objections are real. Fares sit at the very top of the luxury market. The hull is now more than twenty five years old, and while refits in 2007, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2024 have kept her in condition, the layout and cabin dimensions belong to the late 1990s. Small scale cuts both ways: reviewers describe the spa as tiny, the original casino was pulled out for lack of use, and the Deck 8 library devotes a single shelf to English titles. Underpowered air conditioning also appears in reviews.
The fit is narrow. This is a German language ship for a German speaking market. Menus, daily programmes, lectures and entertainment default to German, and some enrichment, storytelling workshops among it, exists only in German. Hapag-Lloyd designates bilingual voyages on which menus, the daily programme, part of the entertainment and enrichment, and some shore excursions are also given in English. Outside those sailings, an English speaker with no German will feel the gap. Anyone wanting nightlife, a casino or big ship variety should look elsewhere.
**What this means for choosing a cabin.** Every suite is outside, so the real choice is balcony against window: 156 standard suites of about 355 square feet have deep balconies, walk in closets and marble bathrooms, while 36 identical rooms substitute a picture window. Above them sit ten Deluxe Penthouse suites and two Grand Penthouses with dining tables, butler service and in suite saunas. Four Spa Suites line the Deck 7 corridor near Ocean Spa. Suites occupy five decks, with the pool, jogging track and golf simulator above on Deck 9 and the main public rooms below.
Sources
This is Cruise Ship Wiki's own editorial summary of published reviews and reference sources. It is not a guest review and does not describe a stay aboard. Member reviews appear separately below.
Photo: Dudva, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
MS Europa was conceived as the flagship of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' commitment to small-ship luxury, a vessel deliberately kept intimate at a time when much of the industry was chasing ever-greater scale. Built by Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Helsinki, Finland, and delivered in 1999 at a cost of roughly US$157 million, she succeeded an earlier Hapag-Lloyd ship of the same storied name and carried forward a lineage of German-market prestige stretching back generations. At around 28,600 gross tons and carrying only about 400 guests in exclusively outside, largely balconied suites, she was engineered around space and service rather than headline capacity, offering one of the most generous space-per-guest ratios afloat.
The ship became almost synonymous with the highest tier of Berlitz's authoritative Complete Guide to Cruising, which for many consecutive years awarded Europa its coveted five-stars-plus rating and repeatedly ranked her the finest cruise ship in the world. That pedigree rested on the details: a high crew-to-guest ratio, open-seating gourmet dining, spacious suites with walk-in closets and, in many cases, private verandas, and a clientele drawn overwhelmingly from the German-speaking luxury market. Onboard life was calibrated for connoisseurs, from the wine cellar and cigar lounge to a culinary program that treated the kitchen as central to the experience.
Registered in Valletta, Malta, and sailing under the call sign 9HA5275 with a home-market base at Hamburg, Europa was built to roam. Her modest size and long range let her reach ports larger ships cannot, and she has ranged across the North-East Atlantic and worldwide itineraries, wintering in warm latitudes and threading destinations chosen for discovery rather than mass appeal. Godmother Gabriele Frenzel christened the vessel at the outset of a career defined by circumnavigating grand voyages and themed cruises built around music, cuisine, and the arts.
More than two decades after her debut, MS Europa remains in active service with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, a benchmark against which small luxury ships are still measured and the vessel that cemented the line's reputation at the very top of the market. Her success paved the way for a modern, contemporary-luxury running mate, MS Europa 2, while Europa herself continues to embody the classic, formal end of the Hapag-Lloyd fleet.
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Onboard Highlights
Signature attractions, dining, bars and entertainment aboard MS Europa.
Specialty dining
- Europa Restaurant
The main dining venue serving international gourmet cuisine with daily-changing menus. - Venezia
An Italian restaurant featuring classic pasta and seafood dishes. - The Globe by Kevin Fehling
A fine-dining venue with Michelin-starred chef Kevin Fehling's tasting menus (extra charge). - Lido Cafe
A casual buffet with indoor and outdoor seating.
Bars and lounges
- Piano Bar
An intimate bar with live piano music. - Sansibar
A chic lounge for cocktails, inspired by the famous Sylt beach bar.
Entertainment
- Europa Lounge
A show lounge hosting performances and cultural entertainment.
Specifications
| Status | In service |
|---|---|
| Entered service | 1999 |
| Cruise line | Hapag-Lloyd Cruises |
| Class | Europa class |
| Gross tonnage | 28,890 GT |
| Guests (double occupancy) | 400 |
| Guests (maximum) | 408 |
| Crew | 285 |
| Est. annual guests | ≈ 10,000 / year (estimated) |
| Length | 198 m (650 ft) |
| Beam | 24 m (79 ft) moulded |
| Decks | 11 |
| Staterooms | 204 |
| Shipyard | Kvaerner Masa-Yards (Helsinki, Finland) |
| Build cost | ≈ US$157 million |
| Christened by | Gabriele Frenzel |
| Flag | Malta |
| Port of registry | Valletta, Malta |
| IMO number | 9183855 |
| Call sign | 9HA5275 |
| Home port | Hamburg, Germany |
| Region | North-East Atlantic / worldwide |
About the Europa class
Hapag-Lloyd's luxury flagships, MS Europa and MS Europa 2, consistently rated among the world's top luxury ships.
Ownership & loyalty
Part of Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL).
Sister brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea Cruises, TUI Cruises.
References
Descriptions on Cruise Ship Wiki are original write-ups paraphrased from public sources; facts are compiled from the references below and cross-checked. How we source our information.
- Photograph by Dudva (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons - Primary ship photograph