Hamburg, Germany, welcomed more than 500,000 visitors to its Cruise Days festival last weekend, including 250,000 spectators at the Grand Hamburg Cruise Days Parade along the Elbe River on Saturday night. 

Held every two years, Hamburg Cruise Days is the largest public cruise festival in the world. This year's event saw 12 cruise ships call in Hamburg's three passenger ports over the weekend, including the Costa Mediterranea, the MSC Preziosa, and the MS Europa and Europa 2. The Europa and the Preziosa were among the five parade ships that sailed downriver Saturday accompanied by lasers, music, and fireworks, along with 20 escort boats.

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