[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Ship's manifests

[Dan Buss]

I've been meaning to ask this question for some time, hoping maybe someone would would have instead.  
Are the embarkation records at Hamburg the same as the the ship's listings that we see at the debarkation points as Halifax, New York, etc.??  Would there be more information as to town of birth?  Just how does the the whole process work?  My parents arrival at Halifax just gives nationality, and Russia as place of birth.
Dan Buss