Ports & destinations

MedCruise presents its 2015 Statistics Report

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 20 March 2015 20 March 2015

MedCruise presented to the cruise world gathered in Miami the 2015 edition of the MedCruise Statistical Report covering in detail the cruise activities in MedCruise Ports during 2014.

The presentation took place during Cruise Shipping Miami 2015, at the MedCruise booth, and was followed by a welcome reception open to visitors of the event.

The report is based on the annual cruise traffic data of 72 MedCruise port members representing over 80% of the total cruise passenger movements in Mediterranean in 2014.

MedCruise President Carla Salvadό noted that in 2014 MedCruise ports welcomed 25,8 million cruise passenger movements and more than 13.700 cruise calls. This means that the number of passenger movements in the Med and its adjoining seas in 2014 stands at 4,8% more than in 2010.

Carla Salvadό emphasized that the scale of cruise passengers has exceeded 25 million movements per year every single year since 2011.

Yet, a volatility of the total passenger movements on a year per year basis sustains. A 7% decrease of passenger movements was registered comparing to 2013, which formed the record year in terms of cruise passenger movements in the region since 2000.

MedCruise President concluded that the challenge for Mediterranean ports, destinations and all stakeholders is to work collectively in order to provide all those conditions that create the background for future growth.

The report entitled ‘Cruise activities in MedCruise Ports: Statistics 2014’ was produced by the MedCruise Secretariat.

It includes a detailed analysis of cruise activities hosted in the Mediterranean region and its adjoining seas in 2014, comparing the data with the immediate previous year and presenting an analysis of developments in the region during the last five years.

Marginal fall in cruise traffics in the Baltic

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 16 March 2015 16 March 2015

Based on its Baltic Market Review 2015, Cruise Baltic reported a “varying growth rates” in the region. Alan Lam reports from Miami.

The review, conducted amongst the 28 Cruise Baltic destinations plus St. Petersburg, Kiel and Riga, summarizes the 2014 results and forecasts for 2015.

Collectively, for 2014, Cruise Baltic partner ports suffered a 1.8% decrease in passenger numbers and 5.3% fall in cruise calls, as compared to the previous year. However the total number of turnarounds has increase by 1.7%.

Looking at it from a wider perspective, since 2000, the number of cruise passengers visiting the region has increased by an average of 10.3% per annum, from 1.1 million in 2000 to nearly 4.3 million in 2014; the number of calls increased by an average annual rate of 3.3% for the same period, from 1,533 to 2,418; and the number of turnarounds increased by an average annual rate of 7.6%, from 106 to 416.

In 2014, among the top five ports of the region, only Rostock saw growth of 5.4%, to 509,000 passengers; Tallinn suffered a decrease of 7.8% to 479,000; Stockholm has decreased by 3.2% to 470,000; and Copenhagen, the largest port in terms of passenger throughput, has decreased by 7.7% to 739,000.

The number of calls in 2014 decreased in all top five ports: Tallinn decreased by10%, Copenhagen by 9.8%, Helsinki by 7.4%, St. Petersburg by 6% and Stockholm by 5.4%.

Copenhagen continued to be the largest turnaround port, with 129. Rostock was the only destination that experienced a major growth of 65%, from 60 to 99.

Among the large segment of Baltic ports - comprising Rostock, Oslo, Kiel, Kristiansand, Gothenburg, Klaipeda, Riga, Visby and Gdynia – growth has continued at 4%, from 1,530,688 passengers in 2013 to 1,591,361 in 2014.

In the medium segment - comprising Gdansk and Ronne – an increase of 11.6% has been achieved with 45,815 passengers compared to 41,070 in 2013. In this regard, Gdansk has experienced the strongest growth with 42.5%.

Gothenburg and Klaipeda moved from medium to the large segment, on account of an increase of the number of calls: Gothenburg moved from 39 in 2013 to 73 in 2014 and Klaipeda moved from 40 to 63 in the same period.

Overall the passenger figure in the small segment has decreased by 16.3%, with great variation within the group, thus contributing to the overall fall in traffics.

The falling trend is expected to continue in 2015. A 1.6% fall in passenger number, 4.5% further fall in calls, and 5% fall in turnarounds are expected. The top five ports will experience a 1.1% fall in passenger numbers; but the smaller ports are expected to experience a 45% increase in passenger traffic because of higher numbers of calls expected.  

“As a region we are aware of the potentially negative impact of the new ECA environmental regulations,” said Claus Bødker, Cruise Baltic Director, “which have come into effect as of 1 January this year; however, because the Baltic Sea is a strong product with significant customer demand, that is why there is only a marginal decrease in passenger numbers for 2015. I believe the 2014 figures established in this review represent a realistic reflection of the current cruise industry marketplace.”

Hamburg prepares for growth of cruise industry

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 18 March 2015 18 March 2015

Hamburg Cruise Center that operates two and soon three cruise terminals in the German port city, prepares for growth of the cruise industry in the city.

MSC Cruises will be positioning MSC Splendida for Northern European cruises in Hamburg throughout the summer. Italian cruise operator Costa Crociere will offer ten departures on three routes for 2015, and Cunard Line will continue voyages with its Queen Mary 2 from Hamburg to New York in June, August and September. This year, AIDA Cruises will once again have the greatest presence of all cruise lines in Hamburg: five AIDA cruise ships will be calling at the port of Hamburg 55 times

The rapid development of Hamburg’s cruise industry has increased the shipping companies’ demand for higher passenger-handling capacity. Therefore, the city is currently building a third terminal in Steinwerder in addition to the locations in the HafenCity Hamburg and Altona. The Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder is being built on a surface area the size of about two football fields.

Following its commissioning in June 2015, as many as 8,000 passengers per arrival will be handled at the new terminal. To ensure smooth baggage transportation, the terminal will feature separate entry and exit areas. While passengers will depart through the eastern building, new passengers will be boarded at the same time through the western building.

In 2015, Hamburg is also setting the bar in terms of technology and environmental protection: in the upcoming season, the LNG Hybrid Barge “Hummel” will be in regular use, supplying the ocean liners with electricity. Furthermore, the landside power plant for the Cruise Terminal Hamburg-Altona will be put into operation in 2015. 

BVI benefitting socially via Cruise Pier Project

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 18 February 2015 18 February 2015

A commercial-entertainment village open to the public, offering world-class customer service training, prime retail space for Virgin Islands’ artisans, topped off by a year-round cruise tourism calendar, is what the BVI Cruise Pier Expansion Project proposes to offer the Territory’s social and cultural landscape.

The project, which began last fall, involves the lengthening, widening and strengthening of the pier, and a 4-acre landside development featuring commercial and entertainment spaces.

Regarding social benefits associated with the project, Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority Mr. Claude O. Skelton Cline said he thinks it will foster enhanced pride, stating, "The cruise pier development is being done by the BVI, for the BVI. This is a project that all Virgin Islanders can claim as their own. BVI stands to benefit from a new sense of pride, knowing that we have done something to benefit our children’ children."

Mr. Cline also referenced the global marketing services offered by both Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line (DCL), as provided in the berthing agreements.

"Aside from the obvious benefits from being promoted alongside these major brands in terms of the potential for visitor growth, we also stand to benefit from enhanced reputation by association. Fact is, BVI looks even better having signed these agreements with two of the four major cruise lines. It says to the world that they have faith in this project and destination," said Mr. Cline. "The BVI stands to welcome well over 600,000 cruise passengers for the upcoming season. This presents us with over 600,000 opportunities to present BVI culture through music, crafts, foods and other artefacts and promote them throughout the world," said Mr. Cline.

Referencing the family-focused theme of the park, Dona Regis, CEO of Tortola Pier Park Limited (TPPL), said locals can enjoy spending time with their families and friends in an appropriate environment that offers a great mix of food, retail and entertainment.

As for other benefits offered by the park, the CEO said, "The park will serve as an example to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs who wish to strike a better balance between product and services being offered and customer service excellence."

To that end, Ms. Regis said the BVIPA and TPPL are eager to begin quality customer service training that is to be hosted by the Disney Institute, a service attached to DCL’s berthing agreement.

"For TPPL, customer service excellence is paramount to achieving our brand image, as we are a family-focused entertainment hub that offers quality retail with culinary variety," said Ms. Regis.

Ms. Regis said attention will be given to not only those businesses inside the park, but also those ancillary businesses that are created as a result of the park and the influx of cruise passengers.