Ports & destinations

Liverpool to expand temporary cruise terminal to cater for bigger ship turnarounds

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 09 May 2015 09 May 2015

The Liverpool City Council in the UK has approved a report that will see the facility extended with an additional 400 square metres to handle turnaround calls by bigger ships, , local media reports said.

The move to expand the current temporary structure became necessary after plans to use Cunard Building, the splendid former head office of the famous company, as cruise terminal had to be abandoned late last year after it had emerged that the cost of converting the building for this use would be prohibitive.

The extra space and changes will mean the terminal can handle up to 1,800 passengers per vessel. Following the announcement the proposal will need to go through planning and it is hoped the work will be completed by the end of the year.

The facility, which is located at the Pier Head in immediate proximity of the city centre, can handle calls by large, Post-Panamax vessels and callers this year will include Queen Mary 2, Britannia and Royal Princess that are all of at least 140,000 gross tons in size.

However, the facility has limited baggage handling and other check in facilities, which has limited the size of ships that can turn around in Liverpool. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Cruise & Maritime Voyages operate cruises from the facility, using ships of up to about 900 passengers. The largest ship that has operated a turnaround call at the facility is of about 1,200 passengers in capacity.

A spokesman said the extension of the terminal, which has been running since 2011 when 15 ships brought 27,278 passengers, would not interfere with the terminal’s current operations. This year, 54 ships will handle about 80,000 passengers, a 40% increase on 2014.

New indoor toilets will also be built while a new zone will allow early arrivals to wait inside the terminal, whereas previously they have often been denied access. There will also be improvements to the gateway linking the terminal to the main pontoon berth while Liverpool city council will take ownership of the actual facility.

“The increase in demand we have seen means that we are now pretty much at capacity," said councillor Malcolm Kennedy, a cabinet member for regeneration. “We knew the turnaround facility would be a huge success and the increase in demand we have seen since it opened means that we are now pretty much at capacity. It makes economic sense for us to purchase the building as, even with the improvements we are carrying out, the cost is less than half the amount of continuing to rent it. This will put us in a position to continue the success of the cruise liner terminal while we look at options for a more permanent facility in the longer term.”

Cruise season starts at the Port of Seattle

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 02 May 2015 02 May 2015

The 2015 cruise season gets underway today at Smith Cove Cruise Terminal with the arrival of the Holland America Line Westerdam. This season expects 192 cruise ship calls, bringing an estimated 895,055 revenue passengers through the Port of Seattle.

"Each of these cruise ships contribute $2.5 million to the local economy, which comes out to over $400 million for this cruise season," said Port Commissioner Stephanie Bowman. "We also want passengers to stay in the area an extra few days to spend more time and money in Washington state. Our region offers some of the best day trips for travelers."

"The awe-inspiring majesty of Alaska is one of the most anticipated cruise vacations of the year for our Carnival Corporation brands," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company with three of its nine global brands – Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America and Princess Cruises – making the Port of Seattle one of their signature homeports for the Alaska cruising season. "In fact, by popular demand, the Holland America Line has added a third ship homeporting out of Seattle this season, and two ships from its sister brand, Princess Cruises, will sail from Seattle with more passenger capacity."

For the eighth year in a row, Port of Seattle cruise terminals will welcome over 800,000 revenue passengers. Seattle’s cruise business – currently leading all cruise homeports on the west coast in passenger volume – is responsible for over 3,600 jobs, $441 million in annual business revenue, and $17.2 million annually in state and local tax revenues.

All cruise ships that homeport in Seattle use either low-sulfur fuel or plug into shore side electrical power while docked. Smith Cove Cruise Terminal can provide shore power for two ships at once, eliminating the need to run engines while at berth. A Memorandum of Understanding between The Port of Seattle, the Washington Department of Ecology and the Northwest and Canada Cruiseship Association sets strong standards exceeding federal requirements for the treatment of waste discharges from cruise ships operating in Washington waters.

Smith Cove Cruise Terminal and Bell Street Pier provide panoramic views of the city’s skyline, Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Mountains. Both terminals feature concierge services, luggage storage, on-board airline check-in, rental cars, and secure parking facilities.

This cruise season will offer several new products, with the addition of Holland America Line’s ms Statendam for 14-day itineraries, the addition of the Jewel of the Seas replacing Rhapsody of the Seas, and the addition of the Ruby Princess and Crown Princess replacing the Grand Princess and Golden Princess. Each of the three new ships to homeport in Seattle in this season provide room for 500 additional passengers.

Homeport Cruise Lines Seattle – 2015

– Carnival Cruise Lines offers 7-day Alaska cruises on the Carnival Legend departing Tuesdays from Pier 91.
– Celebrity Cruises offers 7-day Alaska cruises on the Celebrity Solstice departing Fridays from Pier 91.
– Holland America Line offers 7-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska on the Amsterdam and the Westerdam, departing Saturdays and Sundays from Pier 91. The Statendam offers 14-day sailings departing on Mondays, from Pier 91.
– Norwegian Cruise Line offers 7-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska on the Norwegian Jewel and the Norwegian Pearl. Sailings depart Saturdays and Sundays from Pier 66.
– Oceania Cruises offers a variety of itineraries on the Oceania Regatta departing from Pier 66.
– Princess Cruises offers 7-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska on the Crown Princess and Ruby Princess. Sailings depart Saturdays and Sundays from Pier 91.
– Royal Caribbean offers 7-day cruises to Alaska on the Rhapsody of the Seas departing from Pier 91 every Friday.

South Korea aims at three million cruise tourists by 2020

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 08 May 2015 08 May 2015

Having been a main beneficiary of the Asian cruise boom, on the highest level of the government efforts are continuing in South Korea to promote cruise tourism. Alan Lam reports.

Following the cruise industry law that had been initiated in 2013, in January this year, urged by the Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, the country’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee passed two new legislations with the aim of boosting the cruise business by cultivating industry professionals, offering state financial supports and establishing cruise associations.

South Korea already offers generous incentives for attracting cruise calls. The government, for example, provides 30% port dues exemption to cruise ships calling at its principal port, Busan, and the local government offers a further 20% refund via travel agents.

The country now expects to attract 1.2 million cruise tourists this year - increasing from one million of last year - and three million by 2020.

To facilitate this goal, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has just announced that the government is planning to establish at least one domestic cruise line within a year. The plans will also allow South Korean residents to use casinos on board cruise ships, thus revising the Cruise Act that was passed by the National Assembly in January allowing casinos on Korean-flagged cruise vessels that carry foreign passengers.

Heraklion welcomes Asuka II on world cruise

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 01 May 2015 01 May 2015

The Port of Heraklion provided a traditional welcome to Asuka II, the Japanese cruise liner that called at the prt as part of its 104 night world cruise.

“Cretan traditional deserts, “xerotigana” and “tsikoudia” were offered to the disembarking passengers by members of a folklore group, dancing local Cretan dances and wearing traditional costumes,” Port of Heraklion said in a statement.

Asuka  II, which belongs to Nipon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) group NYK cruises unit, is the second ship carrying Asian passengers that visits Heraklion port from the beginning of 2015, following the visit of Costa Atlantica on 31 March, carrying one thousand Chinese passengers on a world around trip.