Trace the Roots: the Emigrants Cities

"Following in the footsteps of emigrants": this is the motto under which the hungry masses come back to life. From their farewells to the "Old World" to their arrival on Ellis Island, the ‘Island of Hope’ off New York City – but today in the opposite direction.

Between 1821 and 1914 alone, 44 million Europeans left their homes to search for their fortunes in the New World. They mostly traveled via German, French, Dutch and Belgium ports. But the southern ports were also a starting point for millions of Spaniards and Portuguese. The United States of America offered the promise of work, land and rights – it was not until the 1950’s that the tide of emigrants slowly ebbed away. It’s a fair bet that many of your guests have ancestors from Western Europe!

Great emotions

For generations of emigrants, the passage from the Old to the New World meant great changes and emotions. Lectures provide the means of introducing your passengers to these historic events – and to their ancestors’ history. Themed shore excursions to museums and memorials in many of the Atlantic Alliance harbors
offer an opportunity to make history come alive on the spot.