Ship Statistics

Cruise Line:                  Peter Deilmann Reederei GmbH & Co., Neustadt in Holstein

Builder:                         Howaldswerke Deutsche Werft

Entered Service:           May, 1998

Gross tons:                   22,400

Length:                         574 feet (175 meters)

Width:                          82 feet (25 meters)

Draft:                            18.4 feet (5.6 meters).

Propulsion:                  Diesel

Speed:                          21 knots

Cabins:                         286 (two handicapped cabins, Nos. 8116, 8042)

Passengers:                505

Staff:                             260 (International)

Public Decks:              Seven

Classification:              Germanisher Lloyd - Ship + 100 A5 Sailing Yacht

US CDC Vessel Sanitation Rating:  93

Medical Center:           

Staffed with a physician and nurse who are on call when facility is closed. Has a dialysis Room, equipped with X-ray and intensive care equipment. Facility can accommodate up to six patients. Quarantine area for infectious diseases.

Ship Currency:             

Euros.  Foreign money is exchanged at the Reception Desk. Traveler’s checks and credit cards (American Express, Diners Club, Visa and Mastercard) are accepted as payment of expenses incurred during cruise trip.

Attire on Board:            Casual during the day; dressy evening wear, jackets for men in the evening except in the Lido café. On formal nights, cocktail dresses or evening slacks for women, dark suits or black tie for men.

English language shore excursions: 50 percent discount if booked in advance.

Websites:         www.deilmann-cruises.com  or http://www.deilmann-kreuzfahrten.de/

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Company History

A pioneer in the river- cruise industry in the 1980s, Peter Deilmann was the first to design and build ships that reflected the style and amenities of ocean-going cruise ships but were keyed to the unique specifications of river cruising. Based in the Baltic town of Neustadt in Holstein, the privately owned German company was founded in 1968. (North American headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia.) 

Entrepreneur Deilmann began by operating freighters and then expanded to passenger service along the coast of Germany. His first ocean-going cruise ship, the MS Berlin, marketed exclusively in German-speaking countries, entered service in 1980. The ship was extended six years later to accommodate 420 passengers. The Berlin was sold in 2005 to an Asian company.

The luxury river fleet followed, beginning in 1987. Today seven of the nine river vessels currently in service are rated five star. In 1994, the three-masted barquentine Lili Marleen was built by Deilmann. The sailing ship was later sold in 2004.

Deilmann launched the ocean liner MS Deutschland in 1998, personally choosing the art work and where it was to be placed on board. His efforts were successful and today the Deutschland is a five-star-rated vessel.

Deilmann died in November 2003, but the company remains a family operation run by his two daughters, Gisa and Hedda Deilmann.

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Meet The Captain:  Hubert Flohr

 

The Deutschland is captained by Hubert Flohr. Born in Dresden (East Germany at the time), Flohr, 55 was always fascinated by ships as a boy and eventually joined the East German navy where in time he rose to the rank of commander. Later, Flohr worked on cargo ships before joining Deilmann Cruises in the mid-1990s.  In 2002 he joined the Deutschland having served as captain on the Berlin and the sailing vessel Lili Marleen—two former Deilmann vessels. More recently, he was appointed master of the Deutschland.

A veteran of 35 years at sea, Captain Flohr takes great pride in his vessel. “You will never see a ship that looks like this—real brass fittings, real wood,” he says. “Just look at the details of the moldings on the ceilings, and the art on display,” he points out. “A lover of art, Peter Deilmann wanted his ship to be an artwork resembling a Grand Hotel of earlier days.”  

The ship was built for the German market as “Germans don’t like very big ships and prefer smaller ones,” Flohr says. And it is important to note that “60 percent of the passengers are repeaters.” And he adds, “more and more American passengers are booking cruises. The ship is also [occasionally] chartered by US business groups.”

“The Deutschland is a modern ship,” says Flohr, adding that “recently the pool and sauna area were expanded.”  This year [2005], he proudly says, “the Deutschland received a five-star-plus rating by a prominent German [evaluation] group.”

Captain Flohr feels it is important as a seaman to work well with people and credits the quality of his crew members with his success. His warm personality also contributes to the successful operation of the vessel as does his great attention to shipboard matters. One sees him inspecting the ship’s exterior when she is in port or scrutinizing the public areas while at sea. Captain Flohr is friendly with the passengers and invites them to tour the bridge; he also attends many of their scheduled functions. His congeniality carries over to his warm smile and firm handshake at the end of the cruise to each departing passenger, thanking them for being a guest on board, and wishing them well in their travels.