This morning, May 22, at sunrise, the impressive Mein Schiff Relax, operated by the German cruise line TUI Cruises, has arrived at the Port of Riga. It has brought 4,139 passengers to Riga, mainly tourists from Germany, but also from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy, as well as a crew of 1,396. The ship has called Riga as part of the Baltic Sea cruise route Kiel-Tallinn-Helsinki-Riga-Kiel.

Mein Schiff Relax is the largest cruise ship scheduled for this season, as well as the largest cruise ship ever to call at the Port of Riga. The 19-deck Mein Schiff Relax is 333 meters long, 42 meters wide, and has a gross tonnage of 160,000 GT. Given the ship’s impressive size, it is moored at the Krievu Island berth.

Since this is the cruise ship’s first visit to Latvian capital, Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs and the Freeport of Riga CEO Ansis Zeltiņš have visited the ship today to welcome Master Todd Burgman and the crew on their first visit to Riga, and in accordance with tradition have exchanged the ship’s and port’s coats of arms.

“The arrival of Mein Schiff Relax at the Port of Riga is both impressive and significant for our city’s tourism sector, as every cruise ship’s call brings tourists, boosts the local economy, and creates new opportunities for the hospitality business. We are working relentlessly in Riga to ensure increasing frequency of such calls in the future and bring even greater benefits to our city,” said Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs.

Mein Schiff Relax is the newest addition to the TUI Cruises fleet, being commissioned as recently as 2025. The vessel is currently considered one of the most up-to-date cruise ships on the European market, featuring both extensive premium-class leisure and entertainment facilities and sustainable, eco-friendly technical solutions.

The cruise ship will remain in Riga until the evening and will depart around 8:00 p.m. to conclude its voyage at the Port of Kiel.

During the season, Mein Schiff Relax will visit Riga three more times. In total, ships from the Mein Schiff fleet will visit Riga 11 times this year.

This year, the Port of Riga is planning a record-breaking cruise ship season – a total of 101 cruise ship calls have been scheduled, which is 21% more than in 2025. It is estimated that approximately 135,000 tourists will arrive in Riga on cruise ships, which is 17% more than last year.

According to studies by the Cruise Lines International Association and Baltic ports, a cruise passenger spends approximately 60–100 euros on average during a one-day visit to Riga.

Previously, the record for the largest cruise ship at the Port of Riga was held by the 319-meter-long Celebrity Silhouette, operated by the Royal Caribbean Group, which called Riga in 2017. “We are witnessing an annual increase in the number of scheduled cruise ship calls. Last year, 86 cruise ships visited Riga; this year, we plan to welcome 101 ships, while 120 cruise ship calls have already been booked for the 2027 season. This is a unique opportunity for Riga and the city’s entire hospitality sector,” emphasized Ansis Zeltiņš, the Freeport of Riga CEO, noting that work is currently underway to develop additional passenger ship reception infrastructure near the center of Riga, on Andrejsala.

Final design work is currently underway, and partial demolition of the ED breakwater – which currently prevents larger vessels from accessing the Exportosta berths – will begin shortly.

The demolition of the breakwater will also make it possible to expand the approach channel, create a turning basin for ships in the future, and ensure the safe maneuvering of large vessels at berths. All work is scheduled to be completed by next year, which will allow the first ships to be welcomed at the Eksportosta berths as early as the 2027 cruise season.