Ports & destinations

Cruise season begins at the Port of Montreal

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 17 May 2014 17 May 2014

The first ship of the 2014 cruise season will anchor in Montréal on May 17. Holland America’s Maasdam will arrive from Fort Lauderdale at 8 a.m. with over 1,266 passengers on board. For the trip, the ship was chartered by Olivia Travel, an agency specializing in vacations for the lesbian community.

The 219 metre long cruise ship is a Port of Montréal regular. In 2014 alone, it will arrive a total of 12 times. During this visit to the city, the Maasdam will allow its passengers to explore Montréal and its cuisine, attractions, and shops through city tours and several activities before returning to Boston at the end of the day.

"Cruises are at the heart of our strategic planning for the coming years. We have ambitious objectives for this high-potential market, and we are working together with members of the Montréal Cruise Committee to attain them,” affirms Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. “We not only want to attract cruise travelers to the city, but we would also like to make Montrealers more aware of this unique way to tour and discover the St. Lawrence River."

Cruising with the wind in their sails

In 2014, three ships will be anchoring in Montréal for the first time: the all new Pearl Mist, the Hamburg, and the Seabourn Quest. A fourth ship, the Europa, will be back in the city after only one previous stopover in 2004.

The cruise season to Montréal on the St. Lawrence River runs from May to November and is in full swing in September and October, with travelers showing up to admire the colours of the fall.

Last year, the Port of Montréal welcomed 47 cruise ships and a record 55,611 passengers. Including crews, nearly 70,000 people boarded or disembarked in Montréal, 70% of whom were international tourists. Between 2012 and 2013, the number of cruise passengers dramatically increased by 47%. These numbers are the result, in particular, of the work of the Montréal Cruise Committee, a group created in 2011.

"I would like to commend the excellent work of the Montréal Cruise Committee, whose efforts are yielding positive results. I anticipate with great enthusiasm the 2014 cruise season, which looks to be very promising,” adds Sylvie Vachon, President and CEO of the Port of Montréal.

Supported by Tourisme Québec, the Montréal Cruise Committee comprises the Montréal Port Authority and Tourisme Montréal, as well as six other local associations and organisations: Aéroports de Montréal (Montréal airports), the Old Port of Montréal Corporation, the Montréal Casino, the Old Montréal Business Development Corporation, the Hotel Association of Greater Montréal and the City of Montréal.

SATS consortium pulls out of Singapore Cruise Centre acquisition

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 15 May 2014 15 May 2014

A consortium comprising SATS Airport Services and SATS Creuers Cruise Service, both parts of Singapore Airport tErminals Services (SATS) group, and Hazeltree Holding, the current owner of Singapore Cruise Centre, have decided to terminate talks about the sale of the facility to the consortium.

“The Purchasers and the Vendor have agreed not to proceed with the Acquisition and to terminate the SPA due to market developments in Asia. The non-completion of the Acquisition is not expected to have a material financial impact on SATS,” the company said in a statement

Said Mr Alex Hungate, President and CEO of SATS: “This announcement does not in any way alter SATS’ commitment to grow our successful operations at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre and to promote Singapore as a homeport, nor our ambition to pursue regional cruise opportunities. We remain confident about the prospects for the Asian cruise market and will continue to actively pursue value-creating opportunities to implement our strategy of growing scale and enhancing connectivity.”

Canary Islands re-discovers itself for cruise

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 02 May 2014 02 May 2014

Promotur, Turismo Canarias - the organization responsible for the promotion of tourism in the Canary Islands is developing a long term Cruise Tourism Strategic Plan for the archipelago and has retained the Cruise Port and Destination Development firm of Bermello Ajamil and Partners Europe (BA Europe) to deliver this assignment.

The project kick-off and first stakeholder outreach meetings took place at the beginning of April in the Canary Islands. Representatives from the local port authorities of Puertos de Estado, tourism institutions from Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, tourism promotional agencies, Canary Islands Government, Puertos de Canarias, international and local port agents, tour operators and other industry players are all part of the outreach efforts led by the Mark Ittel and Luis e Carvalho from the BA Europe Team.

The purpose of these initial meetings was to collect feedback from all the parties involved in the cruise business and to align everyone’s purposes to develop a common strategy and action plan where everyone shares responsibilities and contributes to the “re-discovery” of the Canaries as a cruise destination.

"Turismo de Canarias is keen to implement the study recommendations as we believe it is necessary to have a common strategy that illustrates our advantages over other competing destinations worldwide and helps us to improve all aspects that can weigh on the consolidation of the Canary Islands as a cruise destination in the coming years. We believe that there are great opportunities to further explore the untapped potential and offers on our 7 very different islands to regular visitors but also to further attract new consumer markets from the EU, US and beyond" , informed Tourism Promotur de Canarias.

The proximity of the islands to the Mediterranean, Madeira, Azores, main land Portugal, North Africa, West Africa and Cape Verde in addition to being strategically located for transatlantic and re-positioning cruises is an added value that will be further explored.
Recently the Canary Islands experienced an evolution in the number of cruise visitors reaching its peak in 2012 with 1.725.889 passengers on all islands.

In 2013 the number has decreased slightly to 1.624.473 passengers (-5,9%) which presents a very powerful argument to implement a global strategy for cruise tourism to assure a prosperous cruise tourism growth for the islands.

“This is a long-term project that will require a lot of work and commitment from everyone involved, and that is also the secret of our success – Team Work. Our ultimate goals include improving the image of Canarias as a cruise destination and ensuring that we keep growing our cruise business in a sustainable manner for years to come. In the process we wish not only for cruise lines to improve their revenue opportunities and guest satisfaction levels, but to also generate increased economic benefits from cruise to the local communities,” says Promotur.

Twelve cruise ships at the 825th anniversary of the German port of Hamburg

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 14 May 2014 14 May 2014

Over the weekend from the 9 until the 11May 2014, twelve cruise ships visited the Port of Hamburg and were counted in total with 27 sail-by passages in front of the Landungsbrücken landing stages.

“Overall, 37,000 cruise passengers were handled during the three days of celebration. The cruise ships prominently showed themselves to the nearly one million visitors of the Port Anniversary, who were able to experience the ocean giants’ close-up,” Hamburg Cruise Centre that operates two cruise terminals in the German city, said in a statement

FCCA announces official hotel for the 21st annual Conference & Trade Show

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 29 April 2014 29 April 2014

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has selected of the Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa as the official hotel for the 2014 Conference & Trade Show, taking place in St. Maarten from October 6-10.

Nestled in a lush hillside and facing Dawn Beach, the Westin will host the Conference & Trade Show's events while providing attendees with beautiful views, beach access and numerous amenities to help balance business and pleasure, such as complimentary high speed Internet access, a business center, a fitness center, spa facilities, a casino and more.

"We are proud to partner with St. Maarten's top hotel," told Michele Paige, FCCA president. "The Westin's comfort, convenience and amenities will help attendees have a productive and enjoyable trip, leading to a successful event for all."

Attendees are urged to reserve rooms as quickly as possible due to the property's limited availability. Bookings with the event's special rates are available directly online (http://goo.gl/2LUAWo), telephone(1-800-937-8461, SET#432544 for property 1770) or by contacting Matt Karam (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

The FCCA Conference & Trade Show-the largest cruise conference in theCaribbean-will gather over 1,000 stakeholders from all sectors the cruise tourism industry, along with over 100 FCCA Member Line cruise executives, presidents and CEOs. Attendees will have access to these key decision makers during a four-day series of business sessions and networking opportunities, including one-on-one meetings, workshops and social functions.

To register for and/or learn more about the Conference & Trade Show, please visit https://www.regonline.com/fccastmaarten.