Dubai inaugurates world’s largest cruise terminal

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, has just inaugurated DP World’s third cruise terminal in Dubai. Alan Lam reports.

 

The new Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal is currently the largest in the world, covering an area of 28,000 square metres, capable of handling 14,000 passengers a day. It is the latest addition to the Dubai Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid. 

 

On 11 December, the terminal welcome 4,000 passengers from Costa Cruises and Aida Cruises ships.

 

"Dubai’s vision is to attract 20 million tourists a year by 2020,” saidSultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World, “with the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing anticipating cruise tourist numbers reaching the one-million mark by that time."

 

"The new building will increase the handling capacity of the three cruise terminals in Dubai from two million tourists a year to seven million,” he added."The terminal is the largest and most modern cruise facility in the Middle East and the wider region, enabling the award-winning Mina Rashid to now serve up to seven cruise vessels at one time and more than 25,000 passengers in its three cruise terminals. This expansion came in response to requests from cruise liners and will enable them to increase the number of their trips to Dubai."

 

As well as modern handling facilities, the terminal offers passengersstreamlined immigration and customsprocedures, coordinated by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.

 

Its features also include duty-free outlets, shops, ATM machines, currency exchange and a VIP business centre.

In Bermuda, North Channel dredging could start in spring

Dredging of the North Channel in Bermuda could start as early as the spring so that the island can accommodate Quantum class ships of Royal Caribbean International, The Royal Gazette in Hamilton reports.

"The specialist work will be carried out during the 2015 cruise season in between calls by ships so the schedule is not disrupted," The Royal Gazette reported on its website. "The cruise line Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has been in talks with Government over helping to finance the costs of the work that will continue through the summer and enable RCI’s new Quantum class liner to dock in Bermuda."

The Department of Works and Engineering and Tourism Development and Transport would not comment on what proposals for dredging had been adopted. A series of surveys have been undertaken over the past 12 months with a view to accommodating a new era of larger cruise liners.

In September, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works told The Royal Gazette: “We are still awaiting the final environmental impact study, which includes a plume study which is being conducted concurrently. Once the necessary studies are completed, a Request For Proposals would be initiated to get pricing for actual dredging and reharvesting of corals," the report said.

PortMiami breaks another cruise passenger record with 4.8 million multi-day passengers in 2014

PortMiami, the Cruise Capital of the World, broke another world record processing approximately 4.8 million multi-day cruise passengers in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014.

FY 2014 CRUISE STATISTICS
–    Multi-day passengers: 4.77 Million
–    Daily passengers: 167,000
–    Total Cruise Brands: 13
–    Total ships: 32

In the 2014 cruise season MSC Cruises began sailing one of its newest ships, MSC Divina. Additionally, PortMiami welcomed Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Norwegian Getaway.

New for 2015 is the arrival of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 4,300 passenger new-build ship, the Norwegian Escape. The Escape will sail year-round from PortMiami beginning November 2015.

Many of PortMiami’s current cruise partners are also expanding their Miami fleets. Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Splendor recently started sailing year-round from Miami. AIDA Cruises is also adding three cruise ships to its line-up, AIDAmar, AIDAvita and the AIDAdiva. Additionally, Costa Cruises will introduce a second seasonal vessel to Miami, the Costa Mediterranea.

“Cruise passengers are essential to the continual growth and development of the tourism industry in Miami-Dade County,” said Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.  “Cruise passengers contribute millions of dollars to our local economy annually including air travel, hotel nights, entertainment and shopping.”

“PortMiami offers passengers enticing vacations for every taste and budget,” said Port Director Juan M. Kuryla. “Additionally, our facilities are the most modern in the world. We want passengers to begin their vacation experience the minute they arrive to our Port. PortMiami’s #1 priority is our customer.”

For Fiscal Year 2015, PortMiami will service 34 ships and 15 different cruise brands, including: AIDA Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Resorts World Bimini, and Royal Caribbean International.

Record year for Destination Saint Lawrence

On November 12th, the most successful international cruise season on the Saint Lawrence drew to a close with the departure of the Hamburg from the Port of Québec. Indeed, Destination Saint Lawrence this year welcomed over 261 000 cruise ship passengers and 94 000 crew members, an outstanding 20% jump over 2013. In total, 27 different ships made 348 stopovers in ports of call along the Saint Lawrence during the period from May to November 2014.    
 
"Back in 2008, Destination Saint Lawrence welcomed 127 000 international cruise passengers, a volume which stands in stark contrast to the 2014 figure of more than double that number. Bookings in hand point to continued growth in 2015 and 2016, and we anticipate surpassing the half million mark by about 2020," underscored Tony Boemi, President of Cruise the Saint Lawrence and Vice President, Growth and Development with the Port of Montréal.

Since 2008, over $180 million has been invested to provide for the development of new ports of call and the  institution of a targeted strategy with international cruise lines. As a result, Destination Saint Lawrence now includes nine (9) ports of call designed and poised to handle cruise ship traffic, namely Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Saguenay, Baie-Comeau, Sept-Îles, Havre Saint-Pierre, Gaspésie and Îles de la Madeleine.

The success of Destination Saint Lawrence will require ongoing investment in the years ahead if we are to be able to manage peak season traffic and ensure the provision of quality services. For example, on October 3rd of this year, the Port of Québec simultaneously welcomed 6 ships and over 20 000 passengers and crew into port on a single day. The greeting of such an important contingent of visitors required the implementation of a number of exceptional measures. Current port infrastructure development and greeting projects for both Montréal and Québec, our destination's primary ports of embarkation and disembarkation, are key to assuring that Destination Saint Lawrence keeps pace with anticipated growth.
 
International cruiseshipping on the Saint Lawrence generates economic benefits of some $285 million and sustains the creation of 2200 direct and indirect jobs. (BREA 2012) 

Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore to receive S$7 million enhancements

SATS-Creuers, the company that operates the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS), said it recently rolled out a comprehensive range of enhancements to the facility, aimed at taking passengers from ship-to-kerb in just 15 minutes. The enhancements were implemented over the last six months at a cost of some S$7 million.

"The improvements come as Singapore’s cruise industry continues to see strong growth potential, with year-on-year growth in 2013 reaching 13% (Singapore Tourism Board statistics). Apart from ensuring MBCCS is well-placed to meet the growing needs of the cruise industry, the enhancements will also process passengers more efficiently and comfortably," the company said in a statement.

Comprising a mix of infrastructural as well as process improvements, the enhancements include:

• The installation of a 4th passenger boarding bridge to better facilitate embarkation and disembarkation;
• The addition of 2 new X-ray machines in the arrival hall to increase customs screening throughput;
• Doubling the luggage trollies available for passenger use to 800;
• The removal of the feature wall at the level 1 Arrival Hall Lobby to expand the passenger holding area and improve passenger flow;
• Modifications to taxi stand to improve turnaround time in passenger traffic during peak periods: expanding queuing space for passengers; redesigning taxi ranks to accommodate more taxi lots; and installing fans for the comfort of waiting passengers;
• The addition of new check-in counters on the Departure Mezzanine Level to facilitate embarkation;
• Enhancing the luggage conveyor system to increase handling capacity from 400 to 1,200 bags per hour;
• Working with cruise lines to coordinate and better regulate passenger disembarkation by setting the threshold capacity for the Arrival Hall at 600 passengers;
• Working with taxi drivers to ensure better taxi availability: organising roadshows to familiarise taxi drivers with MBCCS’ layout; launching a mobile application which has seen over 2,000 drivers signing up to date for notifications of incoming cruise ships; and separately setting up a taxi driver database to push notifications to taxi drivers during peak periods.

Bob Chi, chief executive officer of SATS-Creuers said in the statement: “We worked closely with all our stakeholders – including government agencies, cruise lines, their handlers – to implement this suite of improvements. We are confident they will provide passengers a seamless experience, while also positioning ourselves for future growth.”