Port of Galveston celebrates major milestone 15 years of cruise business

On September 30th, the Port of Galveston celebrated a major milestone as it marked the 15th year anniversary of the commencement of the Port’s year-round cruise business.

On September 30th of 2000, Carnival Cruise Lines' vessel Celebration made her inaugural voyage from Galveston Island. After 15 years of cultivating cruising from Texas, the Port of Galveston is grateful for the 2643 ship calls, 18 cruise ships, and the more than 7 million cruise passengers that have travelled through the Port.

“A special ‘Thank You’ to Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises for choosing Galveston as a cruise homeport and for entrusting us with their newest and most innovative ships in order to offer our cruise guests a unique opportunity to visit exotic ports of call in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. In addition, I’d like to thank our cruise partners-the cruise lines’ shore staff, the International Longshoremen’s Association, Federal Agencies such as Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard and the tremendous support from the local community throughout the years.”, said Mike Mierzwa, Port Director.

In 2014, Port of Galveston embarked approximately 640,000 passengers due to the largest-ever capacity commitment by the cruise industry to Texas. These deployments are expected to carry over 824,000 passengers in 2015, an increase of 28% more than last year.

With over $1.2 billion in direct spending and almost 20,000 jobs paying nearly $1.1 billion in total income, cruise related spending in Texas accounted for 6.3 percent of the cruise industry’s direct expenditures, and 5.6 percent of the industry' overall spending nationwide.

“Today we celebrate the positive impact the cruise industry has had on our community. It is important that we recognize that not only is this business great for Galveston, but also for the entire state of Texas. The Port is dedicated to continuing to make improvements that will keep Galveston a top notch cruise port and keep the cruise business thriving for another successful 15 years.”, said Mierzwa.

To ensure that the Port of Galveston remains one of the top cruise ports in the world, the Port has invested more than $85 million in its cruise facilities since 2000.

The Port of Galveston continues to explore ways to expand its cruise business. The Port is looking at what improvements will be needed in order to accommodate three cruise ships sailing from Galveston on the same day.

Continuing cruise success

Carnival Cruise Line will repositioning Carnival Breeze to replace Carnival Magic and Carnival Liberty to replace Carnival Triumph to Texas in 2016, joining Carnival Freedom which arrived in Galveston last February. With Carnival Breeze, Carnival Liberty, and Carnival Freedom, Galveston will be home to three of the line’s most innovative ships offering the widest array of cruise durations and itineraries to top destinations in the Caribbean.

Disney Cruise Line will return to Galveston for the holiday season in 2015. Starting on November 6, 2015, Disney Cruise Line will offer a seven-night itinerary on the Disney Wonder to the Bahamas, which will include stops in Key West, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay through January, 2016.

Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas will be replaced by Liberty of the Seas on November 13, 2015. This larger vessel, the largest cruise ship sailing from Galveston at 1,112 ft. will offer an increased guest experience to passengers travelling out of Texas. The Liberty of the Seas will offer 7-night Western Caribbean cruise itineraries, including Isla Roatan, Honduras; Belize City Belize; Cozumel, Mexico; Falmouth, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Costa Maya, Mexico as ports of call.

The Port of Galveston ranks as the fourth busiest cruise port in the U.S. and 7th in world’s top 20 cruise homeports.

Port Everglades receives its first LEED certification

Broward County's Port Everglades received its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for Cruise Terminal 4, which underwent many energy-efficient improvements when it was expanded and completely renovated over the past year.

LEED, a U.S. Green Building Council program, is a certification that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects must satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve certification.

Construction features that made the terminal eligible for LEED certification include:

– Recycled concrete and asphalt used in the building's construction
– Low-water usage toilets/urinals and fixtures
– Energy-efficient lighting inside and outside as well as the use of natural lighting within the terminal
– Energy-efficient air conditioning and windows
– Remote control of the lighting and air conditioning systems, which is part of the Port's overall energy management program
– Use of Regional materials manufactured within 500 miles of the Port
– Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) products used for paints, coating, flooring and adhesives

"We decided to renovate Cruise Terminal 4 specifically to comply with LEED guidelines because the certification is widely recognized and it supports Broward County's sustainability efforts to make buildings more energy efficient and invest in renewable and alternative energy technologies," said Steven Cernak, Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director.

Port Everglades also has a port-wide energy management program that includes most of the Broward County-owned buildings and facilities, so many of the Port's other cruise terminals are also 'energy efficient' buildings.

Port Everglades recently became the first deep-water port in Florida to join Green Marine, an environmental certification program for the North American marine industry. This environmental program makes it possible for ports, terminal operators, and shipping companies to voluntarily reduce their environmental footprint through a comprehensive program that addresses key environmental issues and criteria using eleven performance indicators.

Over half a million cruise tourists for Cartagena de Indias

Alan Lam reporting

Cartagena de Indias, Colombia’s number one cruise port, is expecting half a million cruise tourists during the current 2015-16 season, which started on 7 September, according to its regional port authority, Sociedad Portuaria Regional.

The port is expecting 529,556 cruise visitors, about 25,000 more than the previous season, with 212 calls by 36 cruise lines, making the industry as the biggest net contributor of tourists to the city.

The German-speaking brand TUI Cruises has included Cartagena in its itineraries for the first time, with 10 calls during the season and each of which will bring in about 2,500 passengers.

Despite this increase, Alfonso Salas, the General Manager of Sociedad Portuaria Regional, told the press that Cartagena aimed to achieve one million cruise tourists within two years.

Sandra Howard, Colombia’s incumbent Deputy Minister of Tourism underscored this goal set by the port authority. She stressed that Cartagena had everything in terms of attractions to compete with other destinations, but it needed to improve its infrastructure. She added that “important investments in respect to the competitiveness of the destination” were being made.

While reaching the one-million milestone in two years might appear to be a tall order under normal circumstances, we believe Cartagena will benefit enormously with the opening up of Cuba, as more ships are deployed to the region.

Cartagena’s attraction is beyond doubt; it is the most iconic city of South America’s Caribbean coast. Even during Colombia’s violent years the flow of tourists did not stop; they came from far and wide, by land, sea and air to admire this colonial walled city and fortress, which were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

 

MedCruise to convene in Olbia this October

The 47th MedCruise General Assembly will take place in Olbia, North Sardinia, Italy, 14-17 October 2015.

More than 100 cruise industry professionals and port executives will be gathered in Olbia to discuss the latest developments in the sector, and also the implications and prospects of cruising in the Med and its adjoining seas.

Among the topics to be discussed during the GA sessions are the current state of the cruise industry, the ways to effectively promote the Med in new markets and China, the latest output of the Pan-European Dialogue between cruise operators, ports and coastal tourism stakeholders, as well as the progress of the Travel Agent Project currently run by CLIA Europe and MedCruise.

In line with the MedCruise tradition, all port and associate members will have a first class opportunity to attend interactive Workshops with cruise line executives, and also enjoy in total five hours of B2B meetings with cruise line and international press representatives.

During the Workshops MedCruise members along with our esteemed cruise line guests will discuss best practices to ‘Manage Activities in the Port’, define ways to optimise ‘Relations with other Actors’ and also suggest ‘Policies to Promote Cruising’ in the region.

Heraklion port wins bronze in Hellenic Responsible Business awards

The Heraklion Port Authority has been awarded bronze medal in Hellenic Responsible Business awards, which aim to highlight and reward good practices, innovative initiatives and projects, examples of excellence in innovative models of cooperation and constant commitment fulfilling sustainability objectives, the port said in a statement.

The winning nomination submitted to the contest was titled: "Making the city of Heraklion important cruise destination in the Eastern Mediterranean in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders."

Ioannis Bras, Chairman and Managing Director of Heraklion Port Authority, the main instigator of the "model of five senses" on which the Management’s strategic plan for cruise sector is based,
received the award for the successful implementation of the system that allows the Culture and Agriculture to be combined with Tourism.

Within the framework of the five senses model implementation, Heraklion Port Authority’s Management organises events to welcome cruise ships in Heraklion in an attempt to promote the destination and Cretan hospitality.

"On Sunday 13 September the port planned a very special day for the passengers of Celestyal Olympia, Celestyal Odyssey and Aida Stella with approximately 5.200 guests and 1.500 crew members. Guests enjoyed once again live presentation of Greek and Cretan cuisine, carving exhibition of fruits and vegetables and interactive cooking classes to teach the recipe of the Cretan traditional salad," the port said.