Bremerhaven Bremen, Germany
Germany

19 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Oceania Cruises (10 Cruises)

Regent Seven Seas Cruises (5 Cruises)

Scenic Cruises (4 Cruises)

More than seven million people left Europe from these very docks. Families with suitcases tied shut boarded here for New York, Buenos Aires, or Halifax, with no return ticket. Today's ships dock at the same spot, on the Weser estuary, but their passengers come back the same evening.

Finding Your Way from the Columbuskaje

The cruise terminal sits along the dike, well away from downtown. The Havenwelten entertainment district is about a 30-minute walk along the Weser promenade, or a few minutes by shuttle or taxi; most cruise lines arrange transportation. Once there, everything is compact around the redeveloped old harbour basins.

The Deutsches Auswandererhaus, a Memory of Departures

The German Emigration Center was built on the exact spot where emigrants once boarded their ships. At the entrance, visitors are given the identity of a real historical traveller and follow "their" story through the waiting room, the crowded dock, narrow corridors, and cramped cabins, all the way to America. Many Québec and Canadian visitors find echoes of their own family history here. Allow at least two hours.

The Klimahaus, a Motionless Trip Around the World

Shaped like a giant water droplet, the Klimahaus 8° Ost follows the 8th meridian around the globe. Visitors shiver in Antarctica, sweat through the Sahel, cross a humid rainforest, and pass through a Swiss Alpine village, complete with matching sets, temperatures, and humidity levels. A favourite with children and adults alike. Allow 2 to 3 hours.

Around the Harbour Basins

The German Maritime Museum houses a 14th-century Hanseatic cog raised from the Weser. The Zoo am Meer features polar bears and seals facing the estuary. The sail-shaped Sail City skyscraper offers an observation deck overlooking the locks, cranes, and the flat North Sea horizon. Below, the old harbour is lined with museum ships and cafés.

Choosing, Because You'll Have to Choose

AttractionSuggested TimeBest For
Emigration Center2 hours or moreHistory and genealogy
Klimahaus 8° Ost2 to 3 hoursFamilies and nature enthusiasts
Maritime Museum and Old Harbour1 to 2 hoursShip enthusiasts
Sail City and Zoo1 hourPanoramic views and a relaxing break

Getting Back to the Ship

The walk back along the dike leads to the Columbuskaje, facing the current, where so many crossings once began. It's hard to climb the gangway without thinking of those who did the same a century earlier, with no hope of ever returning. Bremerhaven isn't Germany's oldest or prettiest city, but it's a place where you understand, in your body, that the history of a port is above all a history of people.

Frequently Asked Questions

At the Columbuskaje on the Weser estuary, exactly where more than seven million emigrants left Europe. The terminal stretches along the dyke, away from the centre.
The Havenwelten district is about thirty minutes on foot along the promenade following the Weser, or a few minutes by shuttle or taxi. Most lines arrange transport: check the times before setting off on foot, with gulls, freighters and wind guaranteed.
Yes, which is good news for a port call. Once at the Havenwelten, everything sits in a compact area around the redeveloped old docks, and you move from one attraction to the next in minutes.
The German Emigration Centre, built exactly where emigrants once boarded. The visit is lived in the first person: at the entrance you are given the identity of a real traveller, then you pass through the waiting hall, the crowded quay, the passageways and the cramped cabins, following that person's fate all the way to America. Allow at least two hours.
Many find a family echo in it. Millions of German, Polish and Scandinavian ancestors passed through these quays before crossing to Halifax, New York or Buenos Aires. It is one of the rare museums where collective history meets a family story so directly.
A building shaped like a giant water drop, a few minutes' walk from the emigration centre, that follows the eighth meridian around the planet. You shiver in Antarctica, sweat in the Sahel, cross a humid rainforest and a Swiss Alpine village, with sets, temperatures and humidity to match. Two to three hours disappear easily.
Very much so. The Klimahaus is made for them, the Zoo am Meer lines up polar bears and seals facing the estuary, and the German Maritime Museum holds a 14th-century Hanseatic cog recovered from the Weser. The emigration centre, by contrast, calls for a bit more maturity.
A high-rise designed like a sail, whose platform gives the overall view of the locks, the cranes and the flat infinity of the North Sea. Allow about an hour including the neighbouring zoo. Below, the old harbour holds museum ships and cafés.
You will have to choose, since one call cannot cover everything. Emigration centre: two hours or more, for history and genealogy. Klimahaus: two to three hours, for families and the nature-curious. Maritime museum and old harbour: one to two hours, for ship enthusiasts. Sail City and the zoo: an hour, for the view and a break.
The euro and German. The major museums offer English routes and take cards. Keep a few euros in cash for the old harbour cafés and the promenade kiosks.