23.09.2018 Magazin , Mittschiffs

Floating event venue

“Open Ship Day” in Düsseldorf

One ship and at least one hundred ways to use it as a floating event venue: with this message, Köln-Düsseldorfer presented its completely renovated MS RheinPoesie in Düsseldorf to selected event professionals and introduced the ship to them as an attractive new event venue in the state capital.

Welcome to what is probably Düsseldorf’s most exciting new event venue! Suitable for both open-air and indoor events, for upscale receptions and exuberant parties – varied catering options and excellent service included. Where can you find it? In the best old town location, Am Burgplatz – at least as long as there’s no event going on. But if it’s time for a celebration, product presentation or summer party, once all the guests are on board it’s time to say “cast off!”, because the venue we’re talking about is a ship. But not just any ship – the most modern event yacht far and wide.

Beautiful new ship design

At the beginning of 2018, KD took over the chic river cruiser, which had already been anchored in Düsseldorf for years under the flag of the traditional Cologne shipping company, and invested a great deal in renovating it. In about three months, the traditional cruise ship was transformed into an ultra-modern yet elegant event yacht. KD is now presenting this at an “Open Ship Day”. Event professionals from near and far were invited, and they came in droves to check out the MS RheinPoesie for their events.

Andreas Albani from the KD charter service explains the idea behind the “Open Ship Day”: “You can learn a lot from brochures and web-sites about the different possibilities a venue offers, but you naturally get a completely dif-ferent impression live and on site”. KD did not simply open the ship’s door to the invited event specialists, but staged several very different small-scale events on board to show how versatile the MS RheinPoesie is: the tables in the large saloon shone in festive white, surrounded by chairs with white chair covers, set with elegant glasses and cutlery polished to perfection – a gala was the order of the day here. A few meters further is the dance floor, where the brand-new light and sound technology provided an excellent party atmosphere. On the deck, chilled-out lounge areas and a BBQ station created the ultimate cool summer feeling.

The friendly, experienced and competent KD service staff served freshly tapped Alt beer, cocktails and a tray service in all “event rooms” equally. Andreas Albani and his colleagues from the KD charter service were of course also on board and were happy to answer the party professionals questions. They explained all the possibilities the ship offers, how flexibly the rooms can be used and which services KD offers its charter customers.

Saving the best for last

Towards the evening the MS RheinPoesie played perhaps its greatest trump card: Captain Markus Koopmann lifted anchor and steered his ship along the highlights of Düsseldorf ’s skyline on the Rhine. The old town, the Medienhafen (media harbour) and the Stadttor skyscraper glided past the guests in the perfect summer weather. Now – perhaps with a cool cocktail in hand at the railing on the open deck – even the most experienced event organiser became aware, if they weren’t already, that a ship like the MS RheinPoesie makes a really unique event venue in Düsseldorf.