Ballin’s idea of running a series of pleasure cruises did not meet with much support on the part of his associates; the public, however, took it up with enthusiasm from the very start. Early in 1891 Ballin himself took part in the first trip to the Far East on board the express steamer Auguste Victoria. Organized pleasure trips on a small scale were by no means an entire novelty in Germany at that time; the Carl Stangen Tourist Office in Berlin, for instance, regularly arranged such excursions, including some to the Far East, for a limited number of participants. To do so, however, for as many as 241 persons, as Ballin did, was something unheard-of until then, and necessitated a great deal of painstaking preparation. Among other things, the itinerary of the intended cruise, owing to the size and the draught of the steamer used, had to be carefully worked out in detail, and arrangements had to be made beforehand for the hotel accommodation and for the conveyance of passengers during the more extended excursions on shore. All these matters gave plenty of scope to the organizing talents of the youthful director, and he passed the test with great credit.
The first Far Eastern cruise proved so great a success that it was repeated in 1892. In the following year it started from New York, surely a proof that the Company’s reputation for such cruises was securely established not in Germany alone, but in the States as well. Meanwhile, however, Hamburg had been visited by a terrible catastrophe which enormously interfered with the smooth working of the Company’s express steamer services. This was the cholera epidemic during the summer of 1892. It lasted several weeks, and thousands of inhabitants fell victims to it. Those who were staying in Hamburg in that summer will never forget the horrors of the time. In the countries of Northern Europe violent epidemics were practically unknown, and the scourge of cholera especially had always been successfully combated at the eastern frontier of Germany, so that the alarm which spread over the whole country, and which led to the vigorous enforcement of the most drastic measures for isolating the rest of Germany from Hamburg, may easily be comprehended, however ludicrous those measures in some instances might appear. There are no two opinions as to the damage they inflicted on the commerce and traffic of the city. The severest quarantine, of course, was instituted in the United States, and the passenger services to and from Hamburg ceased to be run altogether, so that the transatlantic lines decided to temporarily suspend the steerage pool agreement they had just concluded. The Packetfahrt, in order not to stop its fast steamer services completely, first transferred them to Southampton, and afterwards to Wilhelmshaven, thus abstaining from dispatching these boats to and from Hamburg. The steerage traffic had to be discarded entirely, after an attempt to maintain it, with Stettin as its home port, had failed. Financially this epidemic and its direct consequences brought the Company almost to the verge of collapse, and the Packetfahrt had to stop altogether the payment of dividends for 1892, 1893, and 1894.
Business was resumed in 1893, but at first it was very slow. Every means were tried to induce the United States to rescind her isolation measures. An American doctor was appointed in Hamburg; disinfection was carried out on a large scale; with great energy the city set herself to prevent the recurrence of a similar disaster. The Packetfahrt, in conjunction with the authorities, designed the plans for building the emigrants’ halls situated at the outskirts of the city, which are unique of their kind and are still looked upon as exemplary. These plans owe their origin to the extremely talented Hamburg architect, Mr. Thielen, whose early death is greatly to be regretted.
An important innovation was the establishment of regular medical control and medical treatment for the emigrants from the East of Europe on their reaching the German frontier, a measure which was decided upon and taken in hand by the Prussian Government. The expansion of the Packetfahrt’s business, of course, was most adversely affected by the epidemic and its after-effects; and several years of consolidation were needed before the latter could be overcome. Consequently, hardly any new services were opened during the years immediately following upon the epidemic.
An important step forward, which greatly strengthened the earning capacities of the Company’s resources, was taken in 1895, when the building orders for the steamers of the “P” class were given. These vessels were of large size but of moderate speed. They were extremely seaworthy, and were capable of accommodating a great many passengers, especially steeragers, as well as of carrying large quantities of cargo. The number of services run by the Company was added to in 1893 by a line from New York to Italy, and in the following year by one from Italy to the River Plate. Pool agreements were concluded with the Lloyd and the Allan Line with respect to the first-named route, and with the Italian steamship companies with respect to the other. The agreement with the Italians, however, did not become operative until a few years afterwards.
In 1897 the Packetfahrt celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its existence—an event in which large sections of the public took a keen interest. Perhaps the most noteworthy among the immense number of letters of congratulation which the Company received on that occasion is the one sent by the chairman of the Cunard Line, of which the verbatim text is given below. It was addressed to one of the directors in reply to an invitation to attend the celebrations in person.
“It is with great regret I have to announce my inability to join with you in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of your Company, to be held on board your s.s. Auguste Victoria.
“I the more regret this as I have the greatest possible admiration of the skill and enterprise which has directed the fortunes of your Company, especially in recent years.
“You were the first to give the travelling public the convenience of a speedy and reliable transit between the two great continents of the world by initiating a regular service of twin-screw steamers of high speed and unexceptionable accommodation.