Ports & destinations

Hamburg celebrated 824th port anniversary with 13 cruise ships

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 13 May 2013 13 May 2013

The German port of Hamburg celebrated from the 9 to 12 May the 824th anniversary of its foundation, when more than 1.5 million people visited the world’s largest port festival along the harbour front, Hamburg Cruise Centre said in a statement.

The cruise industry also used the Elbe River as its catwalk and showed stage during the port anniversary festival. Highlights such as the naming of Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten’s new Europa 2; the rocking final of TUI Cruises’ “Full Metal Cruise”; the AIDA firework display and the arrival of a total of 13 cruise ships in the Port of Hamburg made the Hanseatic city North Germany’s cruise hot spot last weekend.

A particular highlight this year was the christening of the new Europa 2 on the Elbe River off Hamburg’s prestigious Blankenese district on Friday evening. The ship was greeted with a firework display before embarking on its maiden voyage to Amsterdam followed by a cruise around Western Europe.

The Hanseatic city is in greater demand than ever by cruise lines and their guests. The 2013 cruise season will see a total of 177 ship’s calls and half a million passengers in Hamburg. The Port of Hamburg will thus again be the most frequented German Turn Around Port, it said.

Malmö inaugurates new cruise terminal

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 12 May 2013 12 May 2013

On Saturday Malmö's new cruise ship terminal in Frihamnen was inaugurated as the cruise ship Empress docked in the city for the first time. The 35 000 travellers arriving each season will bring a proper upswing to the tourism industry.

"This is an important and long-awaited step towards making Malmö an established cruise destination. Through this development we have created additional space for the jumbo cruise ships in Copenhagen," says Johan Röstin, CEP for CMP, which is anticipating more small and mid-sized cruise traffic in the long term.

The new cruise terminal was inaugurated by Kent Andersson, Chairman of the local government authority. The old wharf storehouse M 16 in Frihamnen has been converted into a cruise terminal. Recently a new cycle track and walkway was completed from Frihamnen to Malmö City.

In connection with each cruise ship docking around 1 800 Spanish cruise passengers arrive at Frihamnen via Malmö Airport. A similar number of travellers disembark from their cruise on the same day, returning to Madrid and Barcelona on Pullman Tours' flights. This passenger flow generates many new jobs in the form of, for example, guides, coach drivers, check-in personnel, welcoming personnel and baggage handling.

"This is without doubt one of the most positive things to have happened to tourism in Malmö. The cruise traffic strengthens the tourism industry in the form of jobs and tourism-related income, and the city as an international attraction. Through the onshore tour programme that the travellers can avail themselves of, other parts of the Öresund region have the opportunity to create an image for themselves," says Johan Hermansson, Director of Tourism.

CMP, Malmö Airport and Pullmantours have been collaborating closely for a long time to create a good cruise product, where the transfer between aircraft and ship have been in focus.

"Together we have created an attractive offer which is comfortable for the passengers. This was what tipped the balance for Pullman Tours to finally choose Malmö," explains Peter Weinhandl, Airport Director at Malmö Airport.

The contract runs to the end of 2015.

Port Canaveral generates $2 billion in community impact

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 29 April 2013 29 April 2013

Business activity at Port Canaveral generated $2 billion and 17,000 jobs for the local community in 2012, up 73 percent in business revenue since the last economic impact analysis three years ago. Leading industry consulting firm Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pa, was commissioned to analyze cruise, cargo, real estate and marina activity at Port Canaveral, the world's second busiest cruise Port and central Florida's outlet to the sea for cargo.

The survey of 294 tenants and service providers found that Port Canaveral business activities generated an increase of 30-percent job growth, personal income of $808 million and $248 million in local purchases. State and local taxes paid totaled $74.3 million.

"This analysis again confirms Port Canaveral's importance to our regional economy," says Interim Port CEO John Walsh. "The significance of our business operations create business opportunities and jobs that provide income for our neighbors and contributes to our quality of life with the local and state taxes paid from the wages earned."

"The success of Port Canaveral is the success of the community," says Tom Weinberg, Chairman of the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners. "As we celebrate 60 years, we continue our commitment and understand our responsibility as an efficient, consistent economic engine for Brevard County and all of central Florida."

The study found that 40-percent of cruise passengers stay in a local hotel at least one night before their cruise and each passenger spends at least $100 while in Brevard County. Crew members were found to spend $385 per visit in the area, mostly on retail purchases.

Seattle cruise season starts, $381 million revenues in sight

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 02 May 2013 02 May 2013

The 2013 cruise season in Seattle gets underway today at Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal with the arrival of Crystal Cruise’s Symphony. This season has 188 cruise ship calls scheduled, bringing an estimated 852,000 revenue passengers through Seattle, the port said in a statement.

“Seattle cruise means thousands of jobs and millions in revenue for our region,” said Port Commission President Tom Albro. “Each of these vessel calls generates $2.1 million for the local economy.”

“A major goal of the Century Agenda is to double the amount of revenue cruise produces in the next 25 years,” said Commissioner John Creighton. “We aim to accomplish this by encouraging passengers to spend more time and money in Washington state while visiting here.”

This is the first year that Oceana Cruise Lines’ Regatta will be calling Seattle, along with Celebrity Cruise’s Solstice, the largest cruise ship to call at the Port of Seattle, with a capacity of 2,850 passengers.

Seattle’s cruise business—currently leading all cruise homeports on the west coast in passenger volume—is responsible for more than 4,000 jobs, $381 million in annual business revenue, and $16.8 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 Agreement 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.

Port of Valencia doubles passenger throughput in April

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 26 April 2013 26 April 2013

Recent port infrastructure investment and efforts made by the city to attract cruise tourism seem to have paid off for Valencia. ACCIONA Trasmediterranea, the cruise terminal manager, has reported that cruise passenger number for April will reached 77,000, with 34 ship calls (40,000 passenger and 23 calls in April 2012). At 37,000 passengers more than the same period in the previous year, the number has practically doubled. Alan Lam reports.

This week alone ACCIONA will host 12 calls in Valencia, expecting about 21,000 passengers

Although perceived to be languishing in the shadow of its giant neighbour, Barcelona, as a secondary port of call Valencia is increasingly attracting the attention of major cruise lines. On Friday 26 April, the port will welcome the arrival of Costa Serena, Azamara Quest, Wind Star and Queen Elizabeth. On Sunday 28 April, its busiest day, three ships – Oriana, Costa Fortuna and AIDAMar - will bring in no fewer than 7,000 passengers.

ACCIONA expects a similar number for May, with calls made by Costa Fortuna, MSC Splendida and Azura, among others