Which harbor cruise in Hamburg
 

We will be in Hamburg in late June. I'd like to begin our visit w/ a harbor cruise. Does anyone have any specific suggestions? I'd like one with with an English language option, and that would provide a good overview of the city.

Thanks.

http://www.abicht.de/en/index.html

http://www.hadag.de/e_index.php

http://www.barkassen-meyer.de/

http://www.glitscher-hamburg.de/Engl...ion/index.html

The harbour trips provide a good overview of the port, but not of the whole city. Most leave from the Landungsbrücken and it's best to go there to see what's available. The smaller boats can go into the canals and docks where the bigger ships can't go.
A cheap alternative is HADAG's harbour ferry service. Line 62, for example, runs every 15 minutes to Finkenwerder, and it's included in the cost of a day ticket for the city's trains and buses.
www.hadag.de/e_hafenfaehren.php
There are also trips on the Alster lake in the city centre (www.alstertouristik.de). Some of these go through the Fleete, the canals linking the Alster with the Elbe, so cover both the lake and the port.

There are two different types of harbour cruises, often offered by the same company: those on larger boats and those on tiny boats ("Barkasse", little vessels that were originally used to transport the workers in the port from one place to another). The Barkasse can get much closer to the big ships and can also enter the narrow canals in, for example, Speicherstadt - you see more and it's more impressive.

A "Hafenrundfahrt" will take you round the port, the Elbe river and Speicherstadt with the city panorama beyond, but you won't go into the city centre.
The lesser-known "Fleetenfahrt" (Fleet is the local word for canals) runs along the rivers and canals and lakes of the city, a completely different route which is also worthwhile and in parts really romantic. Some depart from the port, others from the Alster.

If you have time for both and the weather is fine, go for it. If you can do but one, I'd choose the Hafenrundfahrt, the harbour cruise.

Thanks for the responses!