MS Columbus is a 15,000-ton, 420 passenger, luxury cruise ship owned by the Hapag-Lloyd cruise line. She was built in 1997, in Wismar, Germany. Her relative size allows her to transit the Great Lakes, one of the few modern cruise ships and the only German one able to do so. However, she is flexible enough to cruise worldwide as well, for example travelling the Mediterranean for cultural cruises with Martin Randall Travel. Her crew complement consists of 170,[1] and her top speed is 16 knots.[2]
The Columbus will leave the fleet in 2012 to become the Hamburg for Plantours.[3]
Each deck has a specific colour theme.