RCCL and Port Everglades in terminal upgrade agreement

Broward County's Port Everglades has negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides the framework for a new long-term business agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCL) that will include complete, customized renovations of the Port's Cruise Terminal 25 targeted for completion by 31 October, 2018, the port said in a statement.

"Our cruise line customers are becoming more sophisticated in the way they think about the guest experience, as we saw when Royal Caribbean partnered in the construction of Cruise Terminal 18 for their Oasis class of ships," said Port Everglades Chief Executive Steven Cernak. "We value the company's partnership and confidence to bring the newest ships from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises to Port Everglades."

On Monday, RCL announced that its newest Celebrity Cruises ship Celebrity Edge will homeport in Port Everglades beginning in the fall of 2018. Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, the newest Oasis class ship, began sailing from Port Everglades in November 2016.

The MOU will allow negotiations to move forward toward a final agreement that must be approved by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. RCL's current agreement expires on December 31, 2017. The new agreement will be effective on January 1, 2018, and expire on Sept. 30, 2026 with options to extend the agreement for four years, followed by another five years. To view the MOU, CLICK on the attachment listed below under "Release Properties."

UK ports recorded 19% rise in passenger figures 2016

Last year, 114 individual cruise ships called into UK ports, many ships calling on multiple occasions, bringing a record 1,214,000 passenger day calls, an increase of 19% over 2015, Cruise Britain, which promotes the country as a cruise destination, said in a statement

A total 52 lines visited UK ports as diverse as Tyne and Torquay, Liverpool and London, Harwich and Holyhead - 55 in all.

Round Britain cruises remain increasingly popular as an ideal way of exploring Britain's diversity of coasts, castles, cities and countryside. The short sailing distances between Britain's shores and adjoining countries add to the itinerary possibilities. CruiseBritain's new online video showcases a collection of the many different faces of modern Britain.

“Over 1.21million is a marvellous figure to reach and it's great to leave 2015's 'magic million' far behind. Day call figures have tripled in 10 years and 2016 has seen one of the biggest year-on-year increases. The growth in day call passengers shows no sign of slowing down and is testament to the tireless work of our members and of all involved in the British cruise industry,” commented Angie Redhead, Chair of CruiseBritain.

Two Royal Caribbean ships bring 7,500 passengers to Phuket on single day

Royal Caribbean International’s  Mariner of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas called at Phuket in Thailand on the same day on 7 March. “Between both ships, they have brought over 7,500 international tourists to this destination on a single day,” Royal Caribbean International said in a statement.

Mariner of the Seas is currently on a 7-night cruise from Singapore which also called at Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Langkawi. Ovation of the Seas which is Asia’s largest, has arrived on a 5-night cruise from Singapore carrying over 4,300 guests, which is also the highest number of guests ever on a ship call at Phuket.

Silver Shadow to call 10 times at Okinawa in May

Silver Shadow of Silversea Cruises will call at the Japanese island of Okinawa 10 times in May, a local media report said. The ship will be based in Shenzen in China on the cruises that will include calls at Hirara, Naha, Ishigaki and Nakagusuku. It has called on Okinawa before, but ths is the first time it will do this from a base port in China. The ship is scheduled to make four cruises from there with calls at Okinawa, the report on ryukyushimpo.jp said.

Piraeus reports increase in cruise passengers

According to the 2016 statistics for the cruise sector, Piraeus port made a significant increase of over 10% (113,000 passengers) compared to 2015, while the home port traffic achieved an increase of 24%, as a result of the very good cooperation with the Carnival Corporation & plc. At a time of continuous difficulty in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean is a sea of security and peace and the Piraeus cruise port is a modern hub which provides complete services to passengers and ships.

The 111th meeting of the Med Cruise Board of Directors (The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports) hosted by Piraeus Port Authority at its headquarters in Piraeus.

During the meeting, on the 27th of January, there was a working lunch for the Board members with the new president of CLIA Europe (Cruise Lines International Association), Kerry Anastasiadis, in order to take common initiatives for the development of the cruise industry in the Mediterranean.