Ports & destinations

Icy Strait Point eyes record season in 2017

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 26 December 2016 26 December 2016

Icy Strait Point, Alaska’s only privately-owned cruise destination, welcomes three new lines for the 2017 cruise season: Disney Cruise Line visits Icy Strait Point for the first time, as does Carnival Cruise Line and Seabourn Cruise Line. The destination credits its new pier, opened to ships only last season, for helping to attract the new cruise visitors. These three lines bring the number of brands calling at Icy Strait Point to 11, including Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Crystal Cruises – the greatest number of lines ever to call in a single season.

Seabourn, which in 2017 makes its first Alaska appearance in 15 years, calls 10 times at Icy Strait Point with the 450-passenger Seabourn Sojourn. Carnival makes its first-ever call at Icy Strait during a one-time, 14-day Alaska cruise roundtrip aboard the 2,124-passenger Carnival Miracle, which departs from Long Beach, California, on September 2. Disney visits Icy Strait for the first time as part of a new nine-night cruise aboard the 1,754-passenger Disney Wonder, which sails roundtrip from Vancouver on July 24. Altogether, Icy Strait Point expects 154,843 total guests on 83 ship calls in 2017, the latter representing a record number of calls for the destination.

Written by M.T. Schwartzman

Singapore Cruise Centre awards first master duty-free concession to DFS Group

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 24 December 2016 24 December 2016

Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC) has awarded its first master duty-free and general merchandise concession to luxury travel retailer DFS Group

The public tender was called in June this year for the development and operation of the duty-free operations at SCC’s HarbourFront and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminals for the next five years, with a two-year extension option.

This is the first time SCC has decided to consolidate several separate contracts for existing duty-free concessions across six categories including liquor and tobacco, perfumes and cosmetics, fashion and travel accessories and confectionery concession into a single contract, commencing 1st April 2017. The selected single duty-free operator would be able to maximise space productivity by offering an optimal mix of merchandise to meet customers’ needs, focusing on categories with higher yield, as well as enjoying economies of scale from lower cost with a wider range of offerings.

SCC has also reconfigured the main retail space at the arrival and departure areas of its terminals, expanding the area to about 6,000 sq ft.

Christina Siaw, CEO of SCC, said: “SCC is delighted by the interest in our duty-free and general merchandise concession, which attracted participation from the world’s leading international duty-free concession operators. We were highly impressed with the passion, innovation and attention to detail demonstrated by participants in the tender proposal and interview stages. We thank all companies who participated for putting in the time and effort.

“After a thorough evaluation process, we have decided to award the concession to DFS and congratulate its team for putting together the most compelling proposition.

“Passengers at our terminals will soon see a raft of exciting retail offers, including more shop space, an enticing new store concept, as well as new brands, marketing activities and services to enhance their shopping experience.”

DFS Group will deliver a seamless, one-stop and interactive shopping experience across seven outlets at SCC’s terminals for travellers visiting and departing from Singapore by sea. The newly awarded master concession expands DFS Group’s presence to serve the over 6.3 million ferry passengers and 560,000 cruise passengers who pass through SCC’s terminals annually.

DFS will begin a phased renovation at its outlets and introduce a revamped design inspired by the traditional seafront buildings nestled amongst Singapore’s coastline, providing travellers with a welcoming and unique shopping experience reminiscent of Singapore’s culturally-rich heritage. It will offer unique products from over 150 brands, new food and whiskey tasting stations, and new e-commerce, collection and home delivery platforms.

Tim DeLessio, DFS Group’s President Global Store Operations, said: “DFS Group is proud to have grown with Singapore Cruise Centre throughout the past two decades to create a luxurious travel retail experience unique to the cruise and ferry business. Through our strong partnership, we have built a hub for both Singaporeans and visitors alike to enjoy best-in-class retail offerings as they travel to and from this wonderful city. We are confident that together we will reach new heights.”

Venezia Terminal Passeggeri appoints Di Marco as Director General

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 16 December 2016 16 December 2016

The Board of Directors of Venezia Terminal Passeggeri (VTP) has appointed Galliano Di Marco as the new Director General of the company.

He will work with Sandro Trevisanato, who has been confirmed as VTP President, to further strengthen VTP’s positioning as the first cruiser homeport in the Mediterranean Sea and as a company able to combine innovation, sustainability and quality of services on a European and global scale, the company said in a statement.

Galliano Di Marco, 56 years old, was the President of Ravenna Port Authority and President of T&C Traghetti e Crociere from 2012 to 2016 before joining VTP.

Previously, Di Marco was Chief Investment Officer and Senior Partner of F2i, one of the major investment funds for infrastructure and network at European level. He has professional experiences within Gruppo Atlantia, where he covered executive positions both in Italy and abroad.

Liverpool City Council starts search of cruise terminal designer

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 19 December 2016 19 December 2016

Liverpool City Council in the UK said it has launched a Europe wide search to design a potential new cruise terminal on the River Mersey.

The authority is seeking to appoint a highly skilled technical team to advise on the detailed design and development of a new permanent facility at the former Princes Jetty, off Princes Parade. The present facility can handle calls of very large vessels, but it can only handle turnaround calls of ships with a maximum capacity of 1,200 passengers.

An OJEU (Official Journal of the European Communities) notice has been placed inviting tenders, which would include the task of managing the facility’s overall potential delivery and construction, with a deadline for submissions by Monday, 23 January 2017. The advert is part of the council’s strategy to explore how a new terminal could replace the current facility at the Pier Head, which opened in September 2007. Larger in size, the new terminal which would sit just 300 metres down river would be able to handle turnaround cruises with up to 3,600 passengers.

At this stage it is envisaged that a two storey building would be built on reclaimed land on the River Mersey as well as the construction of a new quay wall and changes on Princes Parade to allow coaches to drop off and pick up passengers. The new facility, if completed, would include a new passenger and baggage terminal, passport control, lounge, café, toilets, taxi rank, vehicle pick up point and a car park. It follows a doubling in the number of vessels visiting Liverpool since it became a turnaround facility in 2012 – up from 31 to 63. Passenger numbers are up from 38,656 four years ago to almost 79,000 this year plus 35,000 crew – generating more than £7 million for the local economy through spending while on shore.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool’s cruise industry has blossomed over the past decade helping to transform the tourism appeal of Liverpool and give the Mersey a new lease of life. It has been one of the city’s great success stories but we’re now at the stage where we need to relocate if we are to welcome the next generation of super liners."

Escale Gaspesie records good 2016

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 09 December 2016 09 December 2016

Escale Gaspesie reports outstanding results for its 2016 cruise ship season, which ended on 20 October. “With 30 calls, and a total of 20,674 passengers and 12,020 crew members, the corporation is pleased with its positive performance in 2016,” said the organisation bringing together the towns of Gaspé, Percé and Chandler in Canada in their efforts to develop the cruise industry in the Gaspe peninsula.

Stéphane Sainte-Croix, executive director said in a statement: “The numbers speak for themselves: increase in the number of calls from 2015 to 2016 is 15% while increase in volume of passengers is 18%. The total number of visitors to set foot ashore is 17,808, which corresponds to 86% of the total number of passengers.”

“Tour excursion sales vs maximum sales capacity is 89% which translates to 8007 passengers. There was also an increase in the amount of time the ships were in port for an average of 9.2 hours compared to 8.5 in 2015. Altogether, the numbers are very positive,” he said. Escale Gaspésie estimates that revenue, directly attributable to the cruise industry, was more than CAD 2 million this year.