The view of the cranes at Burchardkai in Hamburg is breathtaking. The perfect spot to launch a ship full of superlatives: the new luxury liner Mein Schiff 1. And we turned the ceremony into a baptism of fire.

From two pontoons in the harbour basin, we lit up the night sky with a state-of-the-art firework display synchronized to music, including a breath-taking crown of blue comets that reflected the significance of Mein Schiff 1 in the TUI Cruises fleet and enchanted not only the passengers on board, but also the thousands of web viewers and the spectators who lined the banks of the River Elbe.