On 14 May 2015,
Mein Schiff 4 entered her first port,
Kiel, from where she was scheduled to operate a series of short inaugural cruises. She returned to Kiel on 5 June 2015. That afternoon and evening, TUI Cruises held a ceremony at Kiel's cruise terminal, to celebrate the ship's entry into service. Around 1,000 guests were present inside
Mein Schiff 4s theatre; an estimated 25,000 spectators watched the event from outside. At 9 pm, following performances by a number of singers, the ship's sponsor, Franziska van Almsick, was raised above the foreship, wearing a -long christening robe weighing and with a diameter of . Van Almsick then christened
Mein Schiff 4, by smashing a bottle of
Pommery champagne against the ship's side. The ceremony later concluded with a late-night fireworks display, accompanied by an electro and house set from
DJ Tanja La Croix. The following day, 6 June 2015,
Mein Schiff 4 departed from Kiel on her maiden voyage, to the eastern Baltic. She was
home ported in Kiel for the 2015 summer season, and operate seven-day voyages to the Canary Islands, Morocco and Madeira during the winter. Crew from one of the ships reported a “splash” occurred near the ship while transiting the Strait, while another containership in the Strait was struck by a projectile. The cruise ships departed while the Strait was reportedly open, but then
Iran declared the Strait closed in response to the
United States blockade. == References ==