Ports & destinations

Baltimore climbs national rankings for cruise passengers

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 26 September 2011 26 September 2011

The Port of Baltimore handled the fifth-largest amount of cruise passengers among East Coast cruise ports in 2010, according to recently released numbers from the Cruise Lines International Association. Baltimore’s fifth-place slot is one better than it ranked in 2009. Nationally, the port ranked 12th (up from 14th) after a record-breaking 2010 cruise year that resulted in 210,549 people sailing from the port onboard 90 cruises.

"Baltimore’s growing cruise business is a real success story for our state," said Governor Martin O’Malley. "Our momentum is built upon having a cruise terminal with a unique location with plenty of onsite parking right off Interstate 95. This allows for easy access and attracts people from up and down the East Coast and from the Midwest. As a city, Baltimore is convenient, accessible and provides great hospitality for travelers before and after their cruise. These characteristics are key reasons why Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International make Baltimore a home for their ships."

In improving to its current ranking, Baltimore surpassed Jacksonville (approximately 174,000) and Alaska (approximately 128,000) for embarking cruise passengers in 2010. The top five cruise ports on the East Coast for passengers in 2010 were Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, New York, and Baltimore.

In 2011 the Port of Baltimore has a new record of 112 year-round cruises offered by Carnival, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean. Cruises sail to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean, and New England/Canada. Recently, Carnival signed a new five-year extension to continue offering cruises from Baltimore. The first two years are financially guaranteed and there are three one-year options.

Earlier this year, the Port of Baltimore began using a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled enclosed passenger boarding bridge. The bridge is mobile and flexible to accommodate various sized cruise ships.

In the last three years, Baltimore has seen a marked increase in its number of cruise passengers. In 2009, its first year of year-round cruising, more than 167,000 passengers sailed on 81 cruises. In 2008, about 61,000 people sailed on 27 cruises that operated in the spring, summer and fall.

About 500 jobs in Maryland are generated by the port’s cruise business. The economic impact is about $90 million.

Baltimore is within a six hour drive of 40 million people. It is the closest East Coast drive-to port from Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago and is within a three-hour drive from the New York City metro area. The Port of Baltimore’s cruise terminal is within 10 miles from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. Maryland’s median household income of $70,545 is the highest in the U.S. Baltimore is also located within a four-hour drive of eight of the ten wealthiest counties in the U.S.

Celebrity Constellation calls at Marmaris

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 26 September 2011 26 September 2011

Celebrity Constellation made her inaugural maiden call at Marmaris Cruise Port on September 24. The luxury ship came to Marmaris in the early hours of the morning with her 1,969 passengers and 906 crew members on board. This is the sixth of nine cruise ships which is making their maiden call in the port of Marmaris throughout 2011.

Once again Marmaris Cruise Port welcomed guests in traditional Turkish style. Celebrity Constellation's guests were greeted with the music and shows of the Ottoman military band, also known as the "janissary band of musicians". Marmaris Cruise Port kept the traditional style welcome with a complimentary mini Turkish bazaar at the port entrance. The guests had the chance to walk through the mini bazaar before they left to visit town and surroundings.

The mini Turkish bazaar incorporated many Turkish tastes for the guests to see and try. These included; a baklava stall, traditional Turkish ice-cream and honey doughnuts and Turkish delight. Guests were also presented with free souvenirs and gifts on behalf of Marmaris Cruise Port such as, red roses, evil eye beads, bookmarks, magnets and postcards.

The warm Marmaris weather kept guests happy as they enjoyed the various Turkish tastes and the music from the janissary band of musicians. The passengers then had the opportunity to discover Marmaris or go onto excursions of their choices.

The master of Celebrity Constellation was presented with a commemorative plaque, made of a traditional Turkish tile; a handcrafted ceramic with Ottomon Gallion motives by Marmaris Cruise Port's Marketing Director, Ipek Tugay.

Celeste Gladstone takes international role as Kevin O'Connor joins Intercruises

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 22 August 2011 22 August 2011

Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, an experienced global business offering first class ground handling and port agency services to the ocean and river cruise industry, has announced management changes for Intercruises North America & Caribbean. After 25 years of direct involvement in the cruise industry, Celeste Gladstone is moving into a new role as Non Executive Vice President, focusing on business development and client relationship management to drive the global expansion of Intercruises as a member of its senior management team.

"I've been working in a 24/7 role for many years and I would like to devote more time to my personal life. However, I want to stay in the business that I love and this new role allows the time I need as a person, while enabling me to focus on helping Intercruises grow internationally. Developing Cruiselink and DFL into what Intercruises North America & Caribbean is today was a huge and rewarding task. We have developed one of the most talented teams in the industry, which will go forward and deliver the service our clients have come to know and expect," said Celeste Gladstone.

Kevin O'Connor has joined Intercruises North America & Caribbean as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and will work closely with Celeste during a three month transition period as he takes responsibility for the combined operations of all Intercruises businesses across North America, east and west coast, in December. Previously Kevin was COO at Transport Management Services (TMS), America's leading transportation management company for complex events. During his tenure at TMS, Kevin helped develop the TMS Gateway and TMS Anchor businesses, which were acquired by Intercruises in June 2011.

The existing Intercruises North America & Caribbean team will report directly to Kevin, with Tom Anderson, Executive Vice President Intercruises North America & Caribbean and Paul Matte, President Intercruises Canada, continuing to lead operations on the North American east coast and in the Caribbean, while Kelly Webber, TMS Gateway General Manager, will continue to lead operations on the North American west coast.

"I am delighted that Celeste has taken a role in which Intercruises will continue to benefit from her wealth of experience and passion for the cruise industry. She has forged an incredibly robust and successful business at Intercruises North America & Caribbean, which will continue to deliver an excellent service under Kevin's leadership," said Mark Robinson, Intercruises Managing Director.

Cruise Down Under welcomes Tasports' announcement

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 22 August 2011 22 August 2011

Cruise Down Under welcomes the announcement by Tasports that it will develop Macquarie Shed No 2 in Hobart as a dedicated cruise and Antarctic facility.

"The port of Hobart has long been a popular cruise destination and the government, business and the local community have a reputation for supporting and welcoming visiting cruise ships, however existing infrastructure facilities are limited," General Manager Jill Abel said.

"Hobart remains an integral link between Australia and New Zealand for itinerary planning and with the increase in number and size of cruise ships operating in Australia over the coming seasons, Hobart will continue to host the greater majority of cruise ship visits to Tasmania."

"The deep water harbour, proximity to the city centre, accessibility to a variety of quality touring experiences, along with its maritime history, make Hobart a highly attractive destination for cruise shipping. The development of the dedicated facility will certainly enhance the experience and increase operational efficiencies."

Abel stated that consultation with industry has been a focus of Tasports as a part of this process in order to ensure that the project delivers for cruise lines, cruise passengers, tourism operators and service providers.

"The CDU Economic Impact Study (2009-10) reports an economic benefit to the Hobart region of $12.4 million in cruise shipping related expenditure," Abel said. The announcement is timely, with the Cruise Down Under annual conference being held in Newcastle next week (24th -26th August) where port infrastructure and "the model port" will be a focus of the program.

Diverse and increasing number of cruise companies choose Atlantic Europe

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations; Published: 05 August 2011 05 August 2011

Cruise companies from across the globe are choosing Atlantic Europe ports in order to maximise the opportunities the region offers and to meet consumer demand for more interesting and less congested ports.

Cruise Atlantic Europe, comprises eight ports in five countries of the Atlantic front (Lisbon, Porto (Leixões), A Coruña, Bilbao, Brest, St Malo, Dover and Cork), yet these ports are now seeing almost 800 cruise ship calls yearly, from more than 50 cruise companies, with 90 cruise itineraries in 2011 visiting two or more Cruise Atlantic Europe ports. And while Dover continues to be a popular embarkation port Lisbon, Porto (Leixões), A Coruña and Bilbao are also operating turnarounds, thanks to improved cruise terminal facilities.

Helena Fernandes from CAE said: "We have seen a steady rise in the number and diversity of cruise companies stopping at our ports from frequent visitors like Holland America Line, P&O, Fred. Olsen and AIDA to niche lines like Lindblad and Hapag Lloyd. There are many reasons for this increase but a key factor is that our ports are able to accommodate a range of ship sizes - anything from the sail assisted Sea Cloud and the intimate Sea Dream I to Royal Caribbeans Independence of the Seas at 154,407 gross tons."

I'ts not just the ability to cater for all ship sizes that is attracting interest in the region though. For cruisers these ports offer many more advantages. Fernandes continues: "The shorter cruising distances between our ports provide an opportunity to have more time on shore for cruisers to access the 14 UNESCO World Heritage sites and three European Capitals of Culture. Now with the range of excursions on offer, these destinations could see you climbing the mighty Mont St Michel, tasting port wine, sampling oysters or even hiking along Brittanys Crozon Peninsula. Experiences like these have caused the numbers of ships stopping at these ports to soar."

In addition at a time when air strikes, cancellations, ash clouds, earthquakes and terrorist alerts are rife throughout the travel landscape, Atlantic Europe could be seen to offer a more reliable choice for consumers. The regions ports are less congested than the Mediterranean and well placed for travel connections throughout Europe by air, rail or road - offering consumers the chance to discover a fascinating part of Europe in one trip.

Fernandes adds: "Our success proves that Atlantic Europe is becoming more than just an option for cruisers, the many advantages our ports offer make them must-see destinations. There really is no better time to see the other side of Atlantic Europe and wed encourage everyone to take another look our cruise destinations."