Ports & destinations

Port of New Orleans cruise passenger numbers back to pre-pandemic levels

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 10 February 2024 10 February 2024

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) finished calendar year 2023 with nearly 1.2 million cruise passenger movements and renewed commitments to the New Orleans cruise market from both oceangoing and river cruise lines.

“The cruise business has rebounded in New Orleans and cruise line partners are confident in our Port NOLA cruise market,” said Port NOLA President and CEO Brandy D. Christian. “This is really encouraging as our cruise business drives tourism and contributes significantly to the hospitality industry. We want to thank all our cruise line and hospitality partners as we work together to make cruising out of New Orleans two vacations in one.”

“New Orleans is one of the most popular pre-and post-cruise destinations in the country, which is a tribute to our excellent partners at the Port of New Orleans as well as the work of our team at New Orleans & Company,” said Walter J. Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company. “Travel drives our economy, but visitors don’t just show up. In a highly competitive marketplace, travelers have choices, and we have to earn their business through aggressive sales and promotion. We are pleased to work closely with the Port, the cruise lines and travel advisors to ensure that extremely loyal cruise passengers are selecting to sail from New Orleans instead of competitor cities.”

Carnival Cruise Line homeports two year-round vessels from Port NOLA, and in 2024 Carnival celebrates its 30th year of cruising from New Orleans. Norwegian Cruise Line will also renew for five more years with additional sailings and a new ship, Norwegian Getaway, to replace the Norwegian Breakaway starting in October 2024.

Disney Cruise Line also returned to the Big Easy with the Disney Magic in January, while Royal Caribbean returns with a new vessel, the Brilliance of the Seas in November 2024. Port NOLA is also seeing record growth in river cruises, with nine homeported vessels including America’s first Viking Cruise that began sailing in 2022. That vessel was built in Louisiana.

Port NOLA set a passenger record in March 2023 for oceangoing and river cruises, topping pre-pandemic levels with 155,225 passenger movements and 39 cruise vessel calls at the Port.

The Port’s previous monthly high was set in February 2020 with 154,409 passenger movements and 31 vessel calls just prior to the entire cruise industry coming to a complete halt in March of that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Port NOLA, 90% of cruise guests travel from out-of-state with 73% spending one or two days in New Orleans either before or after their cruise. That generates more than 300,000 hotel room nights in New Orleans and more than $125 million in local spending each year.

Galveston Wharves, MSC Cruises finalize agreement on 4th cruise terminal complex

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 07 February 2024 07 February 2024

The Galveston Wharves, a major U.S. cruise home port, and MSC Cruises have finalized an operating agreement for a fourth cruise terminal complex at the Port of Galveston. MSC Seascape will homeport at the new terminal beginning in November 2025.

The port will develop the $100 million cruise terminal, $42 million parking garage, internal roadway and other improvements at Pier 16 beginning in early 2024. The estimated $142 million project will be funded with port cash reserves and revenue bonds. The port will convert an existing cargo warehouse into the 165,000-square-foot cruise terminal.

Under the 20-year agreement, which includes four 5-year extension options, MSC will have a set cruise schedule beginning in late 2025 when the terminal opens. The port also can negotiate with other cruise lines to use the terminal based on availability.

Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves port director and CEO, said, “We’re excited about this mutually beneficial public-private partnership. Adding MSC to our family of cruise lines offers our cruise guests an elegant, European-style family cruise experience. It also elevates our status as a top U.S. cruise home port and moves us up to the eighth largest cruise port in the global market, while paving the way for MSC to reach millions of cruise passengers in the Central U.S.”

Rubén A. Rodríguez, President of MSC Cruises USA, said, “We want to give more guests the opportunity to experience MSC Cruises’ unique European flavor, and bringing MSC Seascape to Galveston allows us to be more accessible to millions of people in the central part of the country. A great cruise starts with a top-notch terminal, and we’re excited to partner with the Galveston Wharves to ensure our guests enjoy the experience from end to end. We think it’s important to support the communities we serve and look forward to working with leaders in Galveston to make this project a reality.”

MSC Cruises is the world’s third largest cruise brand, with much of its growth focused on the North American market. Galveston will become the line’s fourth home port in the region upon completion of the terminal project. MSC Seascape, which launched in 2022, is the latest in MSC Cruises’ Seaside class of ships, which were designed specifically for Caribbean cruising and feature enlarged and enhanced outdoor spaces. It can accommodate 5,632 passengers and 1,648 crew members.

The Port of Galveston is the fourth most popular cruise home port in the U.S., hosting 1.49 million cruise passengers in 2023, a 43 percent increase over 2022.

Rees said, “That MSC chose Galveston as its newest home port is a tribute to our strong and growing cruise market. Our popularity is reflected in the growth of our passenger counts and sailings. In 2024 we have berth reservations for 388 sailings with the potential for more than 1.6 million cruise passengers. This will exceed records set in 2023. This is great news for the port and our region because our cruise business is a major revenue and jobs generator, which boosts regional and state economies.”

Regional economic benefits

The local impact of the port’s 2022 cruise activity included 3,500 jobs, $568 million in local business revenue, and $73.5 million in local purchases by passengers and crew. A fourth cruise terminal is forecast to generate an additional 925 jobs and $177 million in local business revenue annually. The city of Galveston will benefit directly with passenger fees and sales tax revenues from cruise parking.

Rees added that, according to the port’s 2019 board-approved 20-Year Strategic Master Plan, the fourth cruise terminal was not anticipated to be needed until 2031.

“We’re able to begin this new project now because Del Monte Fresh Produce Co., a long-standing cargo tenant, has outgrown its facilities in Galveston. We are happy to see that Del Monte was able to relocate 30 miles to the south in Freeport, thus retaining its regional economic impact. We leveraged this opportunity based on the unprecedented popularity of the cruise industry and our optimal location in the central part of the United States,” Rees said.

Exceptional year for Valletta Cruise Port

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 24 January 2024 24 January 2024

Valletta Cruise Port has reported an exceptional 2023, recording close to 900,000 passenger movements, an impressive increase of more than 65% over 2022, which compares very well with 2019 which was a record year.

These details were announced in a press conference by the Minister for Tourism and Public Cleanliness, Clayton Bartolo and the Chief Executive Officer of Valletta Cruise Port and Chief Operating Officer of Global Ports Holding, Stephen Xuereb.

The cruise industry in Malta has left €85 million in the Maltese economy of which €32 million in spending by cruise passengers with the other €53 million in spending by the cruise lines.

It is estimated that the outlook for the cruise industry during this year will remain positive with over 900,000 passenger movements for 2024.

The Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo expressed Malta’s commitment to the cruise industry particularly fly and cruise. "As a country, we will continue working to have more cruise companies homeporting in Malta. We are committed to support the fly and cruise sector to see it grow further. It is important that we continue to work so that the industry remains based on sustainable foundations," stressed Minister Clayton Bartolo.

The Chief Executive Officer of Valletta Cruise Port and Chief Operations Officer of Global Ports Holding Stephen Xuereb highlighted how Malta's central position in the Mediterranean means that Malta welcomes ships sailing to both the West and East Mediterranean and is a perfect location for cruise ship repositioning. "This industry leaves a substantial impact on the Maltese Islands in economic terms: services to ships and services to passengers; flights to and from Malta with an impact on airlines and the airport, with passengers also having the option of spending several days in our country before or after their cruise. Of note is that the industry has not only achieved full normality post-pandemic, but is expanding with more than 50 brand new ships on the orderbook by cruise lines within 2028, with 11 entering the supply market during 2024. Locally prospects for 2024 are extremely positive and we believe that we will comfortably surpass the 900,000-passenger movement mark," concluded Xuereb.

LNG powers Carnival Jubilee in Galveston

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 30 January 2024 30 January 2024

The Port of Galveston is among the first U.S. ports to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) services available to ships, offering environmental benefits and a competitive advantage. The newly built Carnival Jubilee was fueled with LNG for the first time at its Gulf Coast home port before sailing on Dec. 30.

“Providing LNG fuel at the port opens opportunities for the Port of Galveston to attract newer, technologically advanced cruise and cargo ships,” said Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves port director and CEO.

“As LNG continues to gain traction globally as a commercial marine fuel, the port and the community will reap environmental and economic benefits. Fueling more ships with safe, clean-burning LNG improves air quality and creates more jobs.”

Carnival Jubilee, the first new ship to homeport in Galveston, has contracted with two companies for the fuel services. The LNG is manufactured and delivered by Stabilis Solutions and loaded by Seaside LNG from a specially equipped barge. The Jubilee also can run on traditional marine diesel fuel.

Approvals and preparations to provide the alternative fuel involved several entities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Galveston Wharves, the Galveston Fire Department, Port of Galveston Police Department, Carnival Cruise Line, Stabilis and Seaside.

The multi-step process included studies and assessments, emergency response planning and training, and additional port security measures before the Coast Guard issued a letter of recommendation confirming that the LNG loading and bunkering operations complied with federal regulations.

LNG an alternative fuel of the future

LNG fuel is one of the best options available for cruise ships to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. By using LNG fuel, sulfur emissions are reduced by nearly 99% and nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by 85%.

LNG is manufactured by purifying and super-cooling natural gas into a liquid form to reduce its volume and make it easier to use. Removing sulfur during the liquefaction process means that no sulfur compounds are emitted when LNG is used as fuel. Compared with other fossil fuels, natural gas emits the least amount of CO2 when combusted.

The emerging alternative marine fuel has been adopted for a wide range of vessels, including cruise ships, container vessels, crude tankers, chemical tankers, passenger ferries, car carriers, tugs, bulk carriers, fishing vessels and dredgers. With a growing number of LNG-fueled vessels operating in the Gulf of Mexico, demand for LNG as a bunker fuel is rising.

Rees said, “Supporting LNG services also aligns with our air quality goals as a Green Marine-certified port. We’re implementing several initiatives through the voluntary North American program to improve our environmental performance, including shore power and waste reduction.”

MedCruise kickstarts the year with a training program for its members

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 15 January 2024 15 January 2024

MedCruise activity starts today with the first Professional Development Course of the year. 42 Port and destination members will embark at the Port of Genoa on board the MSC Fantasia for a three-day training focused on environmental and social sustainability, as well as circular economy in the cruise sector. This training has been made possible thanks to the collaboration and sponsorship of MSC Cruises and 26 port professionals, 6 cruise related associate members from 11 countries will further familiarise with the topic of environmental and social sustainability in the cruise industry. The training will last three days, including a call in La Spezia where delegates will be able to experience a sustainable-friendly visit to the destination kindly organised by the Port Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea, a member of MedCruise.

The MedCruise Professional Development Course marks a significant step towards fostering a more sustainable and responsible cruise industry, and MSC Cruises' commitment to supporting such initiatives underscores the collective dedication to positive change within the sector.

Michele Francioni, Senior Vice President MSC Cruises, Ivana Melillo, Head of Energy Efficiency and Funded Projects, MSC Cruises and Marieta García, President of GEA, Gestión y Estudios Ambientales, will be the lecturers for this three-day professional development course. For a detailed overview of the programme, please visit the following link: Professional Development Course 2024 • MedCruise

MedCruise President Figen Ayan, emphasised that: “The great challenge facing the cruise industry in the future will be to combine the ever-growing market demand with products that meet the expectations of an increasingly diverse public, while appealing to new generations. All of this, supported by strong collaborations between all stakeholders and including environmental objectives or legislation to go beyond through technological development and innovation to make this important economic sector more and more sustainable”.

Francesca Antonelli, MedCruise Senior Vice President and Professional Development director, and Cruises Manager of the Port Authority of Valencia, addressed the media on a press conference held in Genoa on January 15th, 2024, unveiling the details of the training program. Specialised technicians from MSC will take the delegates on a tour of areas of the ship not accessible to the public, engaging in discussions on repurposing, waste reduction, water conservation, advanced wastewater treatment systems, and energy consumption monitoring. Participants will also join workshops organised in small groups, focusing on vessel efficiency, fuel flexibility, exhaust gas cleaning systems and other recent measures adopted by cruise ships for increased efficiency. To inspire immediate action upon their return to ports and destinations, a dedicated session will raise awareness of the social and environmental significance of selective waste separation and recycling, responsible water and waste food usage, fostering a sustained commitment to these practices in daily life and the work environment.

Photo: Press conference at the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority before the Professional Development Course. (L-R) Michele Francioni, Senior Vice President MSC Cruises; Francesca Antonelli, MedCruise Senior Vice President and Cruises Manager of the Port Authority of Valencia; Antonella Granero, Chief Director of the Human Resources and Public Procurement, Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority-Ports of Genoa; Anja Lohrum, MedCruise Interim Secretary General ; Cristina De Gregori, MedCruise Director PR, Communication & Marketing; Ms Marieta García, President of GEA, Gestión y Estudios Ambientales