Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is reviving one of its most talked-about sailings: “Gatsby Nights at sea”, a 1920s-themed short cruise along the Côte d’Azur, will return for 2027 after a sell-out first outing this year.
The four-night cruise runs from 27 to 31 May 2027 aboard MS EUROPA, combining the glamour of the French and Italian Rivieras with an on-board reimagining of the Roaring Twenties.
Five Riviera ports
The itinerary threads together some of the Mediterranean’s most storied names: Portofino, St Tropez, Cannes, Nice and Saint-Florent on Corsica. In Cannes, the ship stays until midnight, leaving time for a long evening ashore on the Croisette.
The Gatsby night
The theme peaks on one evening when Deck 4 is transformed into a 1920s-style club — feathers, pearls, champagne and jazz-age styling. Rather than a formal gala, the line pitches it as an immersive world of experience blending music, design and cuisine.
Lisa Wilken, head of luxury at Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, said guest response to the first edition had been “simply overwhelming”, prompting the return.
The ship
MS EUROPA carries a maximum of 400 guests in all-outside suites, most with a veranda, and a near 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio. Its small size lets it call at smaller ports that larger ships cannot reach.
Why it matters for UK cruisers
Like the rest of Hapag-Lloyd’s programme, this is euro-priced and pitched largely at a German-speaking market, so it reads as industry intelligence rather than an easy UK booking. From €3,040 per person, it also sits firmly at the luxury end.
But it is a telling example of a fast-growing trend UK lines are chasing too: themed, experience-led short cruises that sell a mood as much as a destination.
Image: Jennifer Gregori/Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
