medcruise newsletter issue 35 march 2012 carla salvadó, maría cano, bruno freitas ... giampiero...

Stavros Hatzakos was electedpresident of the Association ofMediterranean Cruise Ports

(MedCruise) on October 14th, 2011 at the39th MedCruise General Assembly in Sète,France. Hatzakos, elected to a three-yearterm, is general manager of Piraeus PortAuthority, one of the founding members ofMedCruise, and acted as vice president ofthe Association in the past.

The MedCruise assembly also elected theports that will serve on its new Board ofDirectors.

Odessa, Ukraine, represented by YuriyVaskov, was elected senior vice presidentand Koper, Slovenia, represented by BojanBabic, was elected vice president. Ten otherports were voted to the Board of Directors.

March 2012 | Issue 35Bringing the Med together

MedCruise News

www.medcruise.com

MedCruise elects new President and Boardof Directors 139th MedCruise General Assembly 2MedCruise at the Seatrade Winter CruisingForum, Istanbul 3

Port facilities & Infrastructure 4-13

Itineraries / deployment 14-15

Association News/People 1-3

IN THIS ISSUE

Balearics 4The Azores 4Motril-Granada 4Almeria 4Cartagena 5French Riviera 5Sibenik 5Livorno 5Toulon 6Sochi 6Venice 6Souda/Chania 7Ravenna 7Dubrovnik 7Gibraltar 8Lemesos/Larnaka 8Genoa 8Kusadasi/Bodrum/Antalya 8Barcelona 9Valencia 9Ceuta 9Batumi 9Sinop 10Trieste 10Rijeka 10Sete 10Marseille 11Messina 11Lisbon 11Piraeus 12Odessa 12Portoferraio 12Heraklion 13Valletta 13Malaga 13

Royal presence in the Med 14Holland America Line’s magnificent seven 14CMV’s duo calls the Atlantic Islands 14MSC Divina arriving in May 14Silversea’s ‘slow food adventure’ 15Disney returning to the Med in 2013 15Crystal adds more in-port overnights 15More East Med for Louis 15

MedCruise elects new Presidentand Board of Directors

The full board, with representativesand responsibilities are as follows:

• President: Stavros Hatzakos (Piraeus,Greece)

• Senior Vice President: Yuriy Vaskov(Odessa, Ukraine) Black Sea

• Vice President: Bojan Babic (Koper,Slovenia) Benchmarking

• Director: Figen Ayan (Kusadasi/Bodrum/Antalya, Turkey) EconomicStudies

• Director: Maria Cano (Palamos,Spain) Professional Development

• Director: Giampiero Costagli

(Portoferraio, Italy) Communication/Press • Director: Lotfi El Ajmi (Tunisian

Ports) Events/North Africa Relations• Director: Lorenzo Forcieri (La

Spezia, Italy) Membership• Director: Alexandra Mendonca

(Madeira Ports) Security/EU Relations• Director: Kristijan Pavic (Dubrovnik,

Croatia) Finance/Website• Director: Marijan Petkovic (Sibenik,

Croatia) Statistics• Director: Carla Salvado (Barcelona,

Spain) Promotional/External • Director: Livio Ungaro (Trieste,

Italy) Environment

Left to right: Yuriy Vaskov, Marijan Petkovic, Livio Ungaro, Bojan Babic, Kristijan Pavic, Lotfi El Ajmi, StavrosHatzakos, Carla Salvadó, María Cano, Bruno Freitas(since replaced by Alexandra Mendonca), Figen Ayan andGiampiero Costagli.

Outgoing president Giovanni Spadoni welcomes hissuccessor Stavros Hatzakos

Association News/People 16

Maria de Larratea appointed SecretaryGeneral, MedCruise 16Gibraltar’s new captain of the port 16Professional development course 16

MEDCRUISE Newsletter Issue 35 March 2012 23/02/2012 15:13

Executives from the cruise lines set asombre tone at the MedCruiseGeneral Assembly in Seté, with a

warning that the trend towards slowsteaming would impact ports in the region.

Although the Med contains a large numberof UNESCO World Heritage Sites, located atports in close proximity to each other –offering greater choice with itineraryplanning – there remain logistical constraintsfor port calls.

‘In the short term Mediterranean ports aregoing to face a year or two of pain since mostcruise lines are operating a call or two lesson average as we slow down our ships… andoperate itineraries that give us greatercontrol of operating costs,’ said NigelLingard, marketing director for Fred Olsenat the time. ‘We’ve cut operating speed from17.5 knots to 16.5 knots and this reduces thedistance covered each night by 20-30 miles’.

However, the greater number of cruisevessels in the area as the result of higher fuelcosts for Caribbean fly-cruise packages -would push cruise lines to diversify on theiritineraries, particularly to appeal to repeatcruisers, Lingard added.

Factors that may court favour areMedCruise’s benchmarking and berthbooking systems, which were welcomed byexecutives including V Ships’ Roberto Giorgi,who praised them for increasingtransparency.

He also called for investments such as coldironing facilities and robust implementationof the ISPS code. Pullmantur, vp for landoperations, Eduardo Lopez-Puertas alsoechoed the sentiment, asking for preventionof non-authorised tour operators neargangway – which in addition to breaking theISPS code also affects line revenue.

By contrast, Star Clippers, owner and

president, Mikael Krafft warned that therestill needs to be flexibility withimplementation of regulation to cater toniche luxury cruise ships that are not largecruise ships but face the same ISPSrestrictions – thereby affecting passengerenjoyment.

Vasilios Gazekas, Louis Cruises generalmanager, warned that when choosingitineraries lines pay close attention to factorssuch as financial and political instability,seasonality of a destination, co-operationbetween port and city, unrest and piracy,security in the city and, of course, expensiveport tariffs. The latter was a point alsoemphasised by Francisco Reddel, RoyalCaribbean Cruises, manager port operationsMediterranean and Middle East, who warnedagainst port costs going up without anappropriate increase in value to the cruiseline.

2

39th MedCruise General Assembly - October 2011

Cruise lines warn of industry slow down

Sete social scene: The port of Sete greetedMedCruise members with open arms,hosting a number of social events includingwelcome cocktails at Fabre Museum, a GalaDinner at Valmagne Abbey and an oystertasting expedition to Thau Lagoon.Pictured at Valmagne Abbey are L-R:Delphine Beudin (Toulon), Carla Salvado(Barcelona) and Antonio Giorgio Matta

planning and ops. director at V.Ships;Sebastian Camps (Malaga) and LuisMonteiro (Portimao) (below) share pre-dinner drinks; (right) Star Clipper’’s MikaelKrafft examines a line of oysters. Bottomright: Stavros Hatzakos thanks the hosts -Port of Sete’s Marc Chevallier and CatherineLafon and Frederic Ledent (Sud de FranceLanguedoc-Roussillon)


Winter cruising in the Med cameunder the spotlight in Istanbul atthe Seatrade 2nd Winter Cruising

Forum were MedCruise was a supportingorganisation.

George Nikitiades, deputy minister ofthe Greek Ministry of Culture & Tourism,announced measures for the removal ofcabotage restrictions, which was laterapproved this January and passed toparliament.

Binale Yildirim, Turkey’s minister ofTransport, Marine Affairs andCommunications, spoke of the need to growwinter cruise tourism in Turkey: ‘We have aclimate that is conducive to expandingcruising for 365 days, especially in theAegean.’

Giora Israel, Carnival Corp's svp global

ports and destination development, said‘Our ships are built to operate year-roundand with the high investment involved weneed to operate them year-round,preferably in the same region.' He added:'The future is keeping even more ships inthe Med year-round.'

Agreeing, John Tercek, Royal CaribbeanCruises Ltd.'s vp commercial and newbusiness development, concluded: 'Leavingthe ships in the Med is the logicalconclusion.'

MedCruise president Stavros Hatzakospresented Med market statistics covering2012 and highlighted the growth incruising in the five winter months Nov-March, when 2.5m passengers and 1,416calls were received in 2010.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Steve Riester,

said by adding a second ship in the Medyear-round out of Civitavecchia, 'We areshowing our level of commitment to theregion.'

Bill Gibbons, director of the PassengerShipping Association, provided statisticson the growth in UK passengers cruising inwinter months. Some 63,000 cruised lastyear compared to 37,000 in 2008, with theMed drawing 13%.

Erkunt Oner, ceo Tura Turizm sawIstanbul playing a pivotal role in growingcruise activity in the Aegean, Eastern Medand the Black Sea with a new terminalexpected to be operational by 2014. ‘Webelieve cruise activity will be crazy infuture as the port is uniquely positionedfor butterfly cruises covering the entireregion.’

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MedCruise at the Seatrade Winter Cruising Forum, Istanbul, December 2011

Fellow panelists: Royal Caribbean’s John Tercek andStavros Hatzakos

MedCruise president Stavros Hatzakos withBoard director Figen Ayan (Global Ports)

Holland America Lines’ Simon Douwes with Greek deputy minister shipping,Adonis Georgiadis and Port of Heraklion’s Ioannis Bras

TUI Cruises duo: Jens Kroeger and Tine Oelmann

NCL’s Steve Riester and Cartagena’sFernando Munoz

L-R: Barbara Casolla (Naples), Gianfranco Gerini (Trieste), Board director Livio Ungaro(Trieste) and John Portelli (Valletta)


Almeria, located in South Eastern Spain,caters to cruise ships, general cargovessels and also ferry traffic with

frequent connections to Northern Africa. Thecity itself is extremely picturesque; with bothnew structures as well as an older section ofthe city that contains Moorish-style structures.

Visitors to the city are able to enjoy visits tothe Cathedral of Almeria, The Arab Wells (LosAljibes) and also the ‘Cueva del Morato’ –which has proved popular due to its flamencoshow. The authorities have also announcedplans to widen the marina area and build acruise berth aside.

The port is anticipating a significantreduction to passenger throughput for 2012 asa result of Louis Cruises’ decision not to callat the port. However, it will see new cruisecalls by Pullmantur’s Empress and AstorShipping’s Astor. Accordingly, it is scheduledto receive 32 cruise calls that should result in24,898 passengers during the year.

MedCruise contact Jose Antonio Cuesta:[email protected]

The Azores

The nine islands forming the autonomousPortuguese archipelago of the Azoreshave proved popular with cruise lines,

with the ports anticipating a boost to bothcruise calls and passenger numbers. For the2012 cruise season, the Azores is scheduled tosee cruise calls increase by 41.5% to 133,while passenger throughput will see a linkedhike of 29.9% to 113,000 passengers.

Contributing factors to theincrease in these figures arethe eight new vessels that willbe calling at the ports. Theseare the Disney Fantasy,Adonia, Nieuw Amsterdam,Norwegian Spirit, Island Sky,Artania, Columbus 2 andSaga Sapphire.

The islands are working toupgrade infrastructure. A new

cruise terminal featuring a 263mtr long pierand 6.5mtr draught (to be increased to 8.5mtrby year-end) will be debuted in Horta on FaialIsland in July. Tourist activities are also beingimproved at the maritime city of Ponta Delgadathat include dolphin and whale watching,swimming with dolphins and seawatch.

MedCruise contact Andre Velho Cabral Moura:[email protected]

Balearics

The majority of the five ports dottingthe Spanish Balearic island group arescheduled to see a rise in cruise calls

in the forthcoming cruise season. The port ofIbiza will see a boost in vessel calls from 123in 2011 to 152 for this year and a similarhike in passenger numbers from 129,369 to265,461 passengers. Mahon anticipates 87calls and 64,632 passengers up from 79 callsand 53,570 passengers, while Alcudia will seeone call and 64 passengers as compared to nocalls during the 2011 season.

The authorities will unveil a number ofimprovements in the course of the year thatinclude docking facilities for up to five cruiseships of over 300mtr loa at Palma – to beoperational in the summer, new piers at Ibiza– also scheduled for summer and deeperwaters up to 8mtr at Mahon.

At Alcudia a passenger terminal hasrecently been constructed which is capable ofreceiving ships of medium length alongside.

MedCruise contact Francisca Leal:[email protected]

4

AlmeriaMotril-Granada

Located on the Spanish coast, the portof Motril-Granada anticipates strongdemand for its newly launched

Helicopter sightseeing tours that offervisitors the chance to enjoy stunning vistas.There are three tours to choose from: LaAlhambra from the Sky, The Alpujarra’sRange and Flying over the Tropical Coast.

The port is scheduled to host 11,200passengers from 29 calls this season, which willinclude new calls by Riviera, Nautica, Regatta,Albatross, Hamburg and Seabourn Spirit.

MedCruise contact Jose Bermudez del Valle:[email protected]


Cartagena

The port of Sibenik in Croatia will seesix new vessel calls in 2012, which willresult in a 10% boost to passenger

numbers as compared to the 12,860 passengersfrom 113 calls seen the year before. Thevessels are Seabourn Quest, Artania,Columbus II, Boudicca, Saga Sapphire andFTI Berlin.

The port is currently in the process ofextending and reconfiguring its passengerwharves at the Vrulje quays toaccommodate larger cruise ships and betterhandle ferry traffic. The first phase thatcaters to international traffic is expected tobe completed mid-2012, while the secondphase catering to domestic traffic will be

completed by end 2013. Sibenik willalso begin construction of a newpassenger terminal in 2014 that willbe created over the course of twoyears.

Tours on offer include visits to theKrka and Kornati National Parks thatare located amongst the numerousislets of the Sibenik Riviera. Anotheroption is a trip to the Falcon centre inDubrava located 7km from Sibenik.

MedCruise contact Marijan Petkovic:[email protected]

The Spanish cruise port of Cartagenais set for a record year in 2012 withan 8% increase in cruise calls to 84

visits that will see it play host to over90,000 passengers – up from 77 calls and88,0000 passengers last cruise season. Thesefigures have been assisted by a number ofnew calls that include the inaugural voyageof the Saga Sapphire as well as visits by theSeabourn Odyssey, Azura, Serenade of theSeas, Costa Allegra, Island Sky, Marco Poloand Azamara Quest.

Tourists can avail of established tours of the

area as well as a new walking tour of theMining Park of La Union. The special 4,000sqmtr underground visitor’s mine, AgrupaVicenta, allows visitors to experience the wholeprocess of underground mining dating back tothe 19th century.

Cruise passengers will be welcomed atthe Cartagena Cruise terminal that ispositioned just 200mtr from the city centreand can host two vessels simultaneously onits 560mtr berth. Along with the upgrade tothe berth in 2011, the port also developed a4,000sq mtr area for buses and taxis that

includes an information point. Workshave been underway through thewinter season to include rest andshaded areas as well as port policeand civil guard centres.

MedCruise contact Hortensia Sanchez:[email protected]

French Riviera

The French Riviera Cruise club hopes toattract a larger number of passengers toits French Riviera ports of Nice,

Villefranche, Cannes, Antibes and Golfe Juanwith its specially designed programme of‘green’ excursions.

Cannes are expecting a 30% increase inpassenger throughput, to 319,000 passengersfrom 159 vessel calls during the 2012 season.The port authorities at Cannes will have a new200sq mtr cruise terminal to accommodatevisitors by April 2012. Nice and Villefrancheare expecting 408,301 passengers from 218 callsthis year.

Caroline Valadie was appointed cruise andsales development manager for the FrenchRiviera ports and is the single contact for allfive ports in the group.

MedCruise contact Caroline [email protected]

5

Sibenik

Livorno

The Italian port of Livorno will hit the 1mpassenger marker this year in spite of aslight decrease in vessel calls to 462 from

the 497 calls seen the year before. These callswill include new visits by the Carnival Breeze,Carnival Eclipse, Celebrity Reflection,Columbus 2, Hamburg and the MSC Orchestra.

During the course of 2012, cruise lineswill be able to dock at the dedicated 340mtr

long Alto Fondale berth number 46/47 andthe port authorities are at the approval stagefor a new cruise terminal. A new excursionintroduced for the season is an 80km trip tovisit the Etruscan Sites in the ArchaeologicalPark of Baratti and Populonia that isoperated through an agreement with Parchidella Val di Cornia.

MedCruise contact Ing. Giovanni Spadoni:[email protected]


Although the number of cruise shipscalling at the port of Sochi in Russiawill remain static at 30 for the

upcoming season, the increase in vessel sizemeans that it will host 26,000 passengers upfrom 20,400 seen in 2011. However, there willbe a change in the vessels calling at the port,with Artania, Ocean Majesty, Regatta,SeaDream I andHamburg makingnew calls to Sochi.

Port Authoritiesare investingheavily in a newcruise and ferrypassenger terminalthat will be set inthe redevelopedwaterfront areathat features aretail component,

congress hall and convention centre.Visitors this year will be able to tour newlybuilt sports venues for the 2014 winterOlympics and Paralympic games that willbe hosting test events.

MedCruise contact Konstantin Saschenko:[email protected]

Sochi

Venice in Italy hopes to impress visitorswith its new Isonzo 2 cruise facility thatwas inaugurated in July last year. The

new space will help accommodate the 1.8mpassengers that will visit the port in 2012 from673 ship calls. In fact, Venice will host 18 newcallers this year: Carnival Breeze, CelebrityReflection, Celebrity Silhouette, Columbus 2,Costa Fascinosa, FTI Berlin, Grandeur of theSeas, Hamburg, Harmony G, Kristina Katarina,Mona Lisa II, MSC Divina, Norwegian Spirit,Riviera, Saga Sapphire, Serenade of the Seas,Sun Princess and Thompson Destiny.

Further works are also underway such asthe conversion of 109/110 buildings locatedalong Tagliamento quay into two additionalmodern cruise terminals that will bring thetotal number of terminals at the port up to10. Two additional berths and Terminal 123,all of which are currently being used for ro-pax and ferry traffic, will also be madeavailable for cruise activity in theforeseeable future.

New excursions on offer include visits tothe Lace Museum located at the historicpalace of Podesta of Torcello in Burano –where the Burano lace school functioned

from 1872 till 1970.

MedCruise contact Francesco Drigo:[email protected]

Venice

6

Toulon

The French port of Toulon is seeing astaggering increase in both vessels andpassengers, with anticipated vessel

calls up by 53% to 130 and passengernumbers up 49% to 330,000. These figuresplay heavily in to the figures for the VarProvence region as a whole, which is expectedto see up to 300 calls and 400,000 passengers.

The port, which will welcome 10 newvessels and three new cruise lines, iscurrently extending terminal facilities at itsLa Seyne Cruise Terminal and is involved ina project to construct a new berth in thedowntown area of Toulon. Visitors to the cityare able to choose from a selection of over 60excursions ranging from explorations ofVerdon gorge – known as the Grand Canyonof France, a tourist train excursion acrossthe Haut Var or a bus tour of the Châteauxdes Comtes de Provence.

MedCruise contact Delphine Beudin:[email protected]


Souda/Chania

The Croatian port of Dubrovnik isseeing trend towards larger vesselsmanifest, meaning that although it

will experience a 4.7% decrease in cruisecalls from 681 in 2011 to 649 for this year, itwill see a 9.16% increase in passengernumbers, pushing it past the 1m passengermark. It is also seeing an infusion of newcalls from a total of sixteen vessels scheduledto dock this season.

The recent completion of phase one of theBatahovina I infrastructure project allowssmall and medium size cruise ships to dock ata 220mtr operative quay. An additional 400mtr

of quay line will be added by 2014 underphase two of the project. Tours on offer tocruise passengers include a four and a halfhour scenic train ride in Konavle that includesstops for wine tasting, wool processing, a visitto a flour mill and a traditional peasant’sbrunch of bacon and onions

The new vessels calling at the port areThompson Destiny, Costa Favolosa, CostaFascinosa, Riviera, FTI Berlin, CelebritySilhouette, MSC Divina, Carnival Breeze,Sun Princess, Grandeur of the Seas,Serenade of the Seas, Hamburg, Oceana,Reflection and a Saga vessel.

MedCruise contact Kristijan Pavic:[email protected]

The Greek port of Chania anticipatesreceiving 55 cruise vessels and 130,000passengers during this season, the same

as seen in 2011, albeit with six new shipscalling at the port. The authorities are in theprocess of securing financing for the newlydesigned passenger terminal, with work slatedto begin in 2014. Other works in the pipelineinclude the lengthening of the Adrias quay by160mtr to a total of 556 by 2015.

Chania has a number of tours on offer

including cultural excursions around the townwhich allow sea views of the Byzantine walland trips to the beach, local monasteries, thecave of the bear and arecheological site ofAptera. Attractions such as the archaeologicalmuseum and naval museum are popular withtourists as are the plethora of cultural eventsheld over the summer.

MedCruise contact Stella Manioudaki:[email protected]

Ravenna

The port of Ravenna on the ItalianAdriatic coast, has proved popularwith cruise lines and is scheduled to

receive 63 calls and 96,000 passengers duringthe course of 2012. This number is slightlyreduced from the year before when it saw156,000 passengers from 79 calls. Thedecrease is due to the fact that RCCLdecreased its visits by nine calls andPullmantur by five calls. New vessels callingat the port are AIDAaura, Amadea, SeabournQuest, Serenade of the Seas, Harmony G,Celebrity Silhouette, Crystal Serenity,Aegean Odyssey and Minerva.

The port, which is mulling constructionof a 3,000sq mtr terminal for the 2013season, offers tour opportunities such as aday trip to Florence by bullet train viaBologna and visits to Ferrara and Faenza.

MedCruise contact Mariliana Moschona:[email protected]

7

Dubrovnik


The Cyprus Ports Authority, announceda throughput of 180,000 passengersfrom 190 cruise calls in 2012. From the

total passenger number, 40,000 are homeportpassengers – with 40 vessel calls scheduled tobegin and end at Lemesos port, while the restare transit visitors from the 150 vesselscalling at the port.

Lemesos is in the process of constructinga 6,800sq mtr passenger terminal consistingof one departure hall, two arrival halls,separated luggage handling area, parking,offices and also a luxurious restaurant on the1st floor. The terminal is scheduled forcompletion in 2013.

Plans for redevelopment of Larnaka port

and Marina are also underway with the aimof increasing their appeal to cruisepassengers.MedCruise contact Yiannakis Kokkinos:[email protected]

Lemesos/Larnaka

Gibraltar

The port of Gibraltar has provedpopular with cruise lines and isscheduled to host 178 cruise calls and

302,626 passengers for the 2012 season. Theport will see inaugural calls from MSCDivina, MSC Magnifica, Grand Mistral,Serenade of the Seas, Star Flyer, Island Sky,Azamara Quest, Saga Sapphire, Riviera,Marina and Voyager.

The port city recently completedrefurbishments to its Europa Point givingvisitors access to restaurants, gardens and aviewing gallery across the bay to NorthAfrica.

MedCruise contact Albert Poggio:[email protected]

The Turkish ports of Kusadasi, Bodrumand Antalya are all predicting anincrease in passenger numbers this

year. Kusadasi and Antalya both anticipate a4% increase that will see them play host to678,750 from 550 calls and 155,000passengers from 63 calls respectively. Bodrumis expecting an even bigger increase of 7% to

54,000 passengers from 110 calls. Accordingly the ports are

improving their infrastructure tocater to this increased throughput.Kusadasi, which serves 32 cruiselines, extended two of its piers tooffer 1,437mtr of berthing space intotal that can accommodate evenOasis class vessels. Antalya, whichwill host 17 cruise lines of whichseven are new clients, has extendedits terminal building. It hascompleted dredging in the area andconstruction of a duty-free shop.Bodrum will also host 17 cruise

lines – of which five are new clients. The porthas reaped the benefits of extending its fingerpier by 50% in 2011, allowing larger RoyalCaribbean and Celebrity Cruise vessels to call.

MedCruise contact Figen Ayan:[email protected]

8

Kusadasi/Bodrum/Antalya

Genoa

The Italian port of Genoa has investedover €1m in infrastructure to increaseits appeal to cruise lines with the

extension of its disembarkation hall at thePonte dei Mille Cruise Terminal and anextension of the passenger’s hall at the PonteAndrew Doria Cruise Terminal. The portanticipates a total of 202 calls and 820,000passengers, of whom 585,000 will be homeport passengers and 235,000 will be transitpassengers. New vessels calling at the port areMSC Magnifica, Riviera, Celebrity Eclipse,Celebrity Silhouette and the Spirit ofAdventure.

MedCruise contact Edoardo Monzani:[email protected]


The major hub of Barcelona continues toattract many cruise vessels and touriststo its myriad attractions. As the second

largest city in Spain, it boasts a number ofbars, cafes and shops that provide analternative to cultural exploits such as visits toPark Güell, the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter)and, of course, Gaudi’s famous SagradaFamilia.

The port, which is extremely popular withcruise lines and operates seven workingterminals on its premises, will see a slight dip

in numbers for 2012, with 830 calls and 2.5mpassengers. This compares to 881 calls and2.6m passengers during the 2011 season. Theport authorities, who have attributed thedecrease to consolidation in the number ofpassengers and calls, have revealed thatBarcelona will see new calls from five vesselsthis season.

MedCruise contact Carla Salvado:[email protected]

Barcelona

9

The Spanish port of Valencia will see a30% increase in passenger throughputto 480,000 cruisers from 200 port calls

for this season. New visitors include CostaSerena, Golden Iris, Riviera, CrystalSymphony, Mariner of the Seas, MSCSplendida, Empress, Marco Polo, CostaFortuna and Serenade of the Seas. Work isalso progressing on the new passengerterminal and two cruise berths at Valencia,which construction slated to be completed byend-2013.

MedCruise contact Cristina Rodriguez:[email protected]

Valencia

Ceuta

The Spanish port of Ceuta hopes thatits status as a duty free shoppingcentre will continue to draw in

tourists. The port predicts calls by 15vessels carrying 7,000 passengers based onprovisional data for 2012. Ceuta recentlyupgraded its cruise terminal to cater to theneeds of passengers. It is now able toaccommodate up to 2,000 passengers fromvessels exceeding 220mtr loa.

The terminal, which is located a mere

100mtr from the city centre, is ideallyplaced to facilitate tours to neighbouringcountries in the Magred region of NorthAfrica. Visitors choosing to avail of localfacilities can enjoy the Parque Maritimo delMediterraneo leisure complex that featuressalt-water lakes with waterfalls that aresuitable for bathing as well as gardens.

MedCruise contact Victor Jimenez:[email protected]

The Black Sea port of Batumi has seen asteady improvement to tourist facilitiesover the past few years that have

assisted it in its goal to be a major tourist hub.The Batumi seaside park was recentlyexpanded to 12km in length, while touroperators have been beefing up their offeringsfor cruise visitors. Accommodation facilitiesare also being revamped, and Batumi nowboasts new Sheraton and Radisson hotels,while hotels for the Hilton, Kempinski andHoliday Inn brands are currently underconstruction.

The port anticipates calls from 10 cruisevessels in the 2012 season that will includefirst time calls by the Regatta and PrincessDaphne. Batumi port expects to host 3,080cruise passengers – up from the 2,564passengers from eight calls seen in 2011.

MedCruise contact Ilona Karapetyan:[email protected]

Batumi


The port of Sete in France is targetingthe high end niche in the cruise sector,and will accordingly see calls from a

number of small or middle size cruises.Although this means a slight decrease inpassenger numbers from 21,000 passengers

seen in 2011, it does mean that vesselnumbers remain steady at 25 cruise calls.Cruise visitors can enjoy a number of toursaround the stunning country side tovineyards, monasteries and the coast. Theywill be received at the new cruise terminalthat was refurbished last year.

MedCruise contact Catherine Lafon:[email protected]

The Italian port of Trieste will welcomevisitors for the summer cruise seasonat its new €10m passenger terminal.

The authorities anticipate 56 calls and147,000 passengers, which is significantlyover double the number seen in 2011. One of

the reasons for the increase in passengerthroughput is that 10 new vessels will callat Trieste during 2012.

MedCruise contact Livio Ungaro:[email protected]

The Turkish port of Sinop believes itwill see strong growth during the2012 season. It is scheduled to receive

5,000 passengrs from 14 cruise calls thisyear, which is a 20% improvement on 2011.

MedCruise contact Bulent Saglam:[email protected]

Trieste

10

Sinop

The Croatian port of Rijeka anticipatesa slight increase in numbers for thecoming cruise season, improving upon

the 15,120 passengers and 249 calls it saw in2011. In line with its goal to attract morebusiness, the Port of Rijeka Authorityorganised the OPEN DAYS event which washeld in November 2011 to disseminateinformation about the finlisation phase ofbidding process as well as redevelopmentsolutions of Delta and Porto Baros. With thatsaid, the port has been successful inattracting new business and will see a callfrom P&O Cruise’s Oriana for a day visit onApril 19th.

Rijeka, which hopes to build a reputationas a year-round destination, special for itsunique vicinity of beautiful beaches andattractive ski centre situated in the mount ofPlatak overlooking the Kvarner Bay.

MedCruise contact Snijezana Papes:[email protected]

Sete

Rijeka


Marseille

Lisbon in Portugal will hostspecial welcome ceremonies for10 vessels calling at the port for

the first time, including the MSCDivina, which will call at the port onits maiden voyage. The other first timecallers are Sovreign, Saga Sapphire,Grandeur of the Seas, Grand Holiday,Costa Voyager, Costa Neoromantica,Riviera, Sun Princess and AIDAmar.

The port anticipates a 8% increasein cruise calls to 358 and a 10%increase in passengers to 560,000 for2012. Vessels calling at the port canavail of 1,450mtr of berthing spacethat includes a recently constructedcruise pier. Work is currentlyunderway on the new 7,790sq mtrLisbon Cruise Terminal that was designed byCarrilho da Graca and is scheduled forcompletion in 2014.

Visitors will be able to embark on

established tours as well as two new options:A birdwatching and nature tour at the TagusEstuary Nature reserve that has over 250species of birds; The Morgado LusitanoEquestrian Show that displays 18th century

customs for competition and classicaldressage.

MedCruise contact Manuela Patricio:[email protected]

The port of Marseille in France has seen asteady increase in passenger throughputfrom just 164,000 passengers from 183

calls in 2000 to 810,000 passengers and 380calls in 2011. For the upcoming season itanticipates receiving 890,000 passengers from350 calls and predicts that it will cross the 1mpassenger mark in 2013 when it will serve asthe European Capital of Culture.

Beyond hundreds of calls and turnaroundsoperated by MSC, Costa Cruises,Croisieres de France, ArcaliaShipping etc, the port has seen aninflux of operators, and as of thisyear the Norwegian Epic, theHorizon and the Grandeur of theSeas will all offer cruises departingfrom Marseilles. The port will alsohost a naming ceremony for theMSC Divina on 26th May 2012.

Marseille has invested to create 2 new cruiseterminals, one will be ready in April 2012, theother one will be delivered end of year, and is inthe process of upgrading the northern entrypass to accommodate the largest cruise ships. Itis also developing a new terminal dedicated toluxury cruises that will be located close to thehistoric city centre and feature two berths.

MedCruise contact Christelle Maubec:[email protected]

11

Lisbon

Messina

The port of Messina, situated in thechannel that separates Sicily from Italyat the center of the routes between East

and West Mediterranean, is in process ofdrawing up plans for a new passenger terminal.Although details have not been finalized as yet,the structure may appeal to cruise lines toconfirm the excellent performances of the lastyears. In 2011 Messina achieved the record ofhalf million passengers off 257 calls whereasfor the 2012 the port expects 431.000passengers from 185 calls.

That said, Messina will see new calls bythe following vessels: Carnival Breeze,Celebrity Silhouette, MSC Divina, Riviera,Adonia, Aurora, Azura, Oceana, Ventura,Empress, Horizon, Serenade of the Seas,Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Pride,Thompson Destiny and the FTI Berlin.

MedCruise contact Cristiana Laura:[email protected]


Piraeus Port in Greece anticipates about800 ship calls, resulting in 2.6mvisitors for 2012 as compared to 2.5m

visitors from 936 ships the year before. Ofthe total calls for this year 17 ships arenewcomers, with larger vessels taking theplace of many small and medium size ships.Piraeus’ support of winter cruising – withdiscounted rates in play up to 30%, couldalso boost vessel calls.

To meet the increasing demand, during2011 the port expanded the security systemsin terminals A and B. By Spring, it will havecompleted the upgrade and expansion ofterminal A and finished reconstruction of athird terminal.

In addition to enjoying tours of Athens,including the Acropolis-Parthenon, visitors canmake day trips to Sounion or Delphi. They mayalso enjoy a short boat trip to the islands ofAegina, Poros and Hydra.

MedCruise contact Theodoros Tsitouras:[email protected]

12

Odessa

The Black Sea port of Odessa has receivedpositive reviews of its ‘Light Keeper’sTour’ which was introduced only last

year. The tour allows guests to explore theoperational Vorontsov lighthouse – somethingthat is closed off from the general public.

The port is currently conducting activitiesfor reconstruction arrangements of theentrance hall of the port terminal and also anoverpass connecting the passenger terminaland city. These changes will improve its

image to the 73,100 passengers who will visitOdessa from 108 cruise ships during 2012 –with a noticeable trend towards largervessels calling at the port. In addition toreturning ships, Odessa will also see callsfrom MSC Lirica, Costa Romantica, QueenElizabeth, Arcadia, Azura, Oceana andHarmony G.

MedCruise contact Yuriy Vaskov:[email protected]

Piraeus

Portoferraio

The Italian port of Portoferraio isbraced for a 30% increase in portcalls from 66 in 2011 to 89 for this

year – this includes a return of calls by FredOlsen vessel Black Watch. The subsequentincrease in passengers will be able to enjoythe sights and sounds of the port city as

well as embarking on tours. A popularoption is a tour of Elba which includes adrive through the beach resort of Procchiofollowed by visits to the villages of Poggioand Marciana.

A newer tour – suitable for more ablepassengers, is a hiking tour along the slopes

of Mount Capanne. The tour lasts for anhour and a half, including a visit to theChurch of San Cerbone, culminating withlunch in the village of Poggio.

MedCruise contact Giampiero Costagli:[email protected]


Heraklion Port Authority launched acity guide for iPhone and Android.The free app is compatible with iOS

4.2.1 or later and Android 2.1 or later. Compiled by experts and residents of

Heraklion, the apps helps visitors track downthe best bits on-the-go, featuring thelowdown on great museums, attractions,restaurants, bars, arts, entertainment andshopping for the city.

Best of all, is the Heraklion City Guideapp is entirely offline, so users will not incurany unexpected roaming charges.

Key features and functionality includeoffline maps and 'Locate Me' facility,Bookmark for favourite points of interestwith "My Places" feature, What's nearby, PortInfo, See and Do, Eat and Drink, Shopping,Travel and Transportation, Beaches, Banksand ATMs and photos.

Heraklion, in Crete, recorded 300 calls in2011.

MedCruise contact Ioannis Bras:[email protected]

Valletta

A9.6% increase in cruise passengersis expected at Malaga in 2012 with315 ships set to bring 700,000.

Between April and December this year,the Port of Malaga expects the arrival of 10maiden callers: MSC Magnifica, CelebrityReflection, Carnival Breeze, NorwegianSpirit, MSC Divina and others.

A small passenger terminal on berth 2giving passengers a more comfortablewalking access in just 5 minutes to thehistorical centre is expected to beinaugurated in June 2012. This will servicepassengers from small and medium sizedships.

Malaga Cruise Bureau continuesworking with local service providers andinstitutions involved in the cruise businessto consolidate and develop the city andsurrounding area as a cruise destination.

MedCruise contact Sebastian Camps:[email protected]

Artania, Celebrity Silhouette, MSCDivina, Riviera, Grandeur of theSeas, Mein Schiff 2, Celebrity

Reflection and Costa Fascinosa will allmake debut calls in Valletta, Malta thisyear, where in 2011 over half a millionpassengers arrived on 311 calls.

The extension of Lascaris Wharf wascompleted in 2011, improving berthingfacilities for large cruise ships at VallettaCruise Port. The project aligned LascarisWharf with Pinto Wharf and rejuvenatedthe area.

New for passengers arriving this year isThe Maltese Bread Experience at Nenu’s

bakery in Valletta, where visitors canexperience the taste and smell of freshly-baked Maltese bread stuffed with a varietyof ingredients, also baking their own bread.This besides the newly-opened CarnivalMuseum on the Valletta Waterfront.

Last year the Valletta Waterfrontlaunched an educational program aimed atchildren with interactive and fun optionslike a harbour cruise, pizza preparationand an audio-visual show about Maltathrough history and more.

MedCruise contact John Portelli:[email protected]

Malaga

13

Heraklion

©Jo

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Car

dona

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Holland America Line’s 2012Mediterranean season includesvaried itineraries of seven to 42 days

and one 62-day ‘Grand Mediterranean andBlack Sea Voyage’ aboard Prinsendam. Six ofthe line’s other ships—Eurodam, NieuwAmsterdam, Noordam, Rotterdam, Maasdamand Ryndam—also will sail the region on 32different itineraries that span the eastern andwestern Mediterranean.

Prinsendam’s 62-day voyage sails round-trip from Florida’s Port Everglades on March12 and will visit 32 ports in 14 countries. The

ship will overnight in Istanbul, Piraeus,Venice, Barcelona and Lisbon.

Other highlights of the season includethree 12-day sailings on Nieuw Amsterdamthat explore Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey,Montenegro and Croatia. Two 10-dayitineraries on Noordam can be combined toform a 20-day ‘Collectors’ Voyage’ with callsat ports in Italy, Monaco, Spain, Tunisia,Croatia, Greece and Turkey.

The new 17-day ‘Spanish Rhapsody’sailing round-trip from Rotterdam on boardRotterdam visits Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Holland America Line’smagnificent seven

2012 will see Cruise & Maritime Voyages’Marco Polo visit the Azores & Madeirafor the first time. The 15 night cruise

departs from Tilbury, UK in August and headsoff to four Atlantic islands, three in the Azoresand then onto Funchal in Madeira. The adults-only ship is stopping at Lisbon en route. InOctober, six MedCruise member ports featurein the ship’s Mediterranean Gold 14 nightvoyage. CMV’s Ocean Countess will visitCanary Islands and Madeira twice this year.

CMV’s duo callsthe Atlanticislands

14

Royal presencein the Med

Royal Princess will debut with aninaugural season of 12-day sailingsbetween Barcelona and Venice, and

the ship will feature a vastly expandedatrium with new features. Before its first‘Grand Mediterranean’ voyage on June 23,Royal Princess will sail a seven-dayinaugural voyage from Southampton toBarcelona departing June 16.

‘It’s fitting that our new ship will cruise onour most popular Europe itinerary, the‘Grand Mediterranean,’’ said Princess evpJan Swartz (pictured).

Nine 12-day ‘Grand Mediterranean’voyages follow, with departures throughSept. 27. Sailing between Barcelona andVenice (overnight call), the ship will visitToulon, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples,Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi and Piraeus.

MSC Cruises is talking about newbuildMSC Divina, which joins in May asthe largest ship in the fleet at

139,400gt, with 1,751 staterooms for doubleoccupancy of 3,502 passengers and totalcapacity for 4,363. Features include an InfinityGarden Pool and ‘beach zone’ in the aft section

overlooking the ship’s wake, an exclusive MSCYacht Club (with 69 suites, versus 72 on earlierships), three main restaurants and a Tex-Mexalternative dining venue.

Among the other facilities are a bowlingalley, an MSC Aurea Spa with Balinese-inspired treatments, children’s and teen

areas, an interactive 4-D Cinema and virtualFormula 1 auto racing.The main PantheonTheatre seats 1,603.

The ship is scheduledto be christened onMay 26 in Marseille.

After a positioningcruise to Venice, MSCDivina will operateseven-night easternMediterranean sailingsround-trip from Veniceand Bari with calls atKatakalon, Izmir,Istanbul andDubrovnik, throughOctober.

MSC Divina arriving in May


Silversea Cruises created a a new ‘SlowFood Adventure in Tuscany’ landoption that will debut on three

Mediterranean voyages in 2012.In collaboration with Slow Food Italy, the

line designed an exclusive three-nightprogram that highlights local wine producersand products that adhere to the Slow Foodphilosophy of preserving biodiversity andgastronomic traditions.

From Rome, participants will take a scenicdrive into the Brunello region of Tuscany,leading to the vineyard estate of wineproducer Castello Banfi. Included are three

nights at Il Borgo, Castello Banfi’s hotel amidthe vineyards and olive groves of Montalcino.

Highlights include a cooking class, winerytour and a full-day tour of Slow Food-recommended vineyards, olive groves, farmsor other traditional food-producingoperations in and around Bolgheri, escortedby Silversea’s culinary team.

The program is available as a pre-cruiseoption with Silver Wind’s April 30 voyage(Rome to Venice) and Silver Spirit’s Oct. 22sailing (Rome to Barcelona). It's alsoavailable as a post-cruise option with SilverWind's April 17 voyage (Barcelona to Rome).

Disney Cruise Line is returning to theMediterranean in 2013 with newtwists including different cruise

lengths and fresh destinations such as Veniceand the Greek Isles. Starting in June, DisneyMagic will sail a four-night option andspecial 12-night sailings in addition to seven-night cruises. All departures are fromBarcelona.

The new 12-night sailings visit destinationssuch as Venice and Croatia’s Dalmatian Coaston one itinerary and Ephesus and the GreekIsles including Athens on another. Eachitinerary will offer one June and one Julydeparture. The four-night cruises, one in Julyand one in August, will visit Villefranche andPalma de Mallorca.

The seven-night itinerary includesVillefranche, La Spezia, Civitavecchia andNaples.

Disneyreturning to theMed in 2013

Crystal Cruises has been focusing onmore in-port overnights to begin itssailings. For the upcoming Europe

season, Crystal Serenity and CrystalSymphony have doubled the number ofvoyages that begin with days (and nights) inport.

Crystal said the move eases worries aboutlate flight arrivals, lost luggage, relocatingto/from hotels, finding dining and settling inprior to sightseeing.

The line has also added overnights to themiddle and/or end of most cruises this year.Overnights at the disembarkation ports ofVenice, Barcelona or Istanbul, for example,enable passengers to see significantly more ofthe final destination without having to moveto a hotel or rush to the airport to fly home.

For example, in the Mediterranean &Black Sea Crystal has overnights in portssuch as Venice, Istanbul, Odessa, Barcelona,Lisbon and Monte Carlo.

Silversea’s ‘Slow Food Adventure’

15

Crystal adds more in-portovernights

More East Medfor Louis

Louis Cruises is concentrating on EasternMediterranean itineraries for 2012,operating two ships out of Piraeus and

one from Limassol.Louis Cristal and Louis Majesty will both

sail out of Greece, the former on 8 day/7 nightitineraries and the latter on 4 day/3 night and 5days/4 night cruises, to the Greek islands andTurkey. The 2012 programme starts in Marchfrom Piraeus through to early November.

Louis Cristal's round trip Piraeus includesan overnight in Istanbul and calls in Izmir (forEphesus), Patmos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Crete andSantorini.


20 MedCruise members became studentsfor four days on a ferry at-sea witheight industry leaders as professors

during MedCruise's third edition of itsprofessional development course entitled:'The cruise industry's new deployments'. Thecourse organised by MedCruise with thesupport of Escola Europea deShort Sea Shipping (EESSS)took place on a sailingbetween Barcelona andCivitavecchia. InCivitavecchia the groupvisited the cruise terminal.

MedCruise offers thiscourse to its members' staff aspart of its mission to supportthe growth of the cruiseindustry in the Mediterraneanand to enhance their level ofknowledge and allow theports to network with thecruise line lecturers.

The students workedclosely with the instructorswhich included Giora Israel(Carnival Corporation & plc),

Bruce Krumrine (Princess Cruises), GeorgeMichaelides (George Chr. MichaelidesTourism Consulting Ltd) , Luis Ajamil(Bermello, Ajamil & Partners) and TedThompson (CLIA).

The next edition of the MedCruiseprofessional development course will have anew structure and scenario.

Maria de Larratea was appointed lastNovember Secretary General ofMedCruise. Maria, based in

Barcelona, had been undertaking duties asDeputy Secretary General of the Associationsince July 2011. Maria, who was born inBarcelona, has worked internationally and isfluent in five languages: Spanish, English,Catalan, French and Italian and is alsolearning Greek and Portuguese.

March 2012 | Issue 35

MedCruise News

www.medcruise.com

MedCruiseWorld Trade Center,

Edifici Est, 3a Planta08039 Barcelona, Spain

Tel: +34 93 306 88 00 ext 7358Fax: +34 93 306 88 17

[email protected] de Larratea, Secretary General

Alanya

Alicante

Almeria

Azores

Balearic Islands

Barcelona

Bari

Batumi

Cagliari

Cartagena

Castellon

Ceuta

Civitavecchia

Constantza

Cyprus ports

Dubrovnik, Korcula

Egyptian ports

French Riviera ports

Genoa

Gibraltar

Heraklion

Igoumenitsa

Istanbul

Kavala

Koper

Kos

Kusadasi, Bodrum &

Antalya

La Spezia

Lattakia

Lisbon

Livorno

Madeira ports

Malaga

Marseille

Messina

Monaco

Motril-Granada

Naples

North Sardinian ports

Odessa

Palamos

Palermo

Patras

Piraeus

Portimao

Portoferraio

Ravenna

Rijeka

Rize

Sete

Sevastopol

Sibenik

Sinop

Sochi

Souda/Chania

Split

Tarragona

Thessaloniki

Toulon-Var-Provence

Trieste

Tunisian ports

Valencia

Valletta

Venice

Volos

Yalta

Zadar

ASSOCIATE

MEMBERS

European Cruise Council

Kvarner County Tourism

Office - Rijeka

Turisme de Barcelona

- Barcelona

Afrimar Tunisia - Tunisia

Aloschi & Bassani

- Venice

BC Tours & Shipping

- Barcelona

Cambiaso & Risso - Genoa

Cemar - Genoa

Donomis Cruise Services

- Volos

F.A. Travel - North

Sardinian

Hugo Trumpy srl - Genoa

Idu Shipping & Services

- Constantza

Inflot World Wide

- Sochi

Intercruises Shoreside

& Port Services

- Barcelona

Karavanmar Cruise

Services - Alanya

Karpaten Turism Srl

- Constantza

Livorno Port Authority -

Livorno

Londonskaya - Odessa

Mercantile Marine

Shipping - Tunisia

MH Bland - Gibraltar

Navigator Travel &

Tourist Services

- Volos

P&B Agencies - Barcelona

Salamis Organisation -

Cyprus

Samer & Co. Shipping

- Trieste

Select Black Sea Ltd

- Sevastopol

Transcoma cruise &

travel - Barcelona

Tura Turizm

- Sinop

MEDCRUISE MEMBERS

Published by Seatrade Communications Ltd16

MedCruise News

Maria de Larratea appointedSecretary General, MedCruise

Professional development courseBringing the Med together

Gibraltar’s new captain of the port

Captain Roy Stanbrook took over as ceoof the Gibraltar Port Authority andCaptain of the Port earlier this year.

Tony Davis continues as director of maritimeaffairs and Albert Poggio OBE continues tolook after the interests of Gibraltar forMedCruise and assist in the marketing of thecruising sector of the port.

Gibraltar’s new Minister withresponsibility for the Port and Tourism, TheHon Neil Costa MP, is visiting CruiseShipping Miami 2012 where he will take theopportunity of meeting many of the cruiselines which currently feature Gibraltar ontheir itineraries.

L-R: Professors' Israel, Michaelides and Thompson


medcruise newsletter issue 35 march 2012 carla salvadó, maría cano, bruno freitas ... giampiero...

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