q “a trend setter for the cruise industry” · timepieces for every lifestyle and budget. there...

An innovative new ship design deserves a spectacular send off

and the christening ceremony for AIDADiva, in Hamburg, did not disappoint.

A crowd of up to half a million citizens from this ship crazy city lined the banks of the Elbe to witness a sound, light and fi rework display unlikely to be seen again. Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft, fi rmly believes that this new ship design, which needed to overcome technical obstacles in order to be built, is “a trend setter for the cruise industry”.

The major design innovation is the Theatriun, the main entertainment area, a circular atrium space spanning

three decks, right in the middle of the ship. Whereas conventional ship design requires the strongest steels to be placed in this section to provide added strength to its structure, this open space acts as a meeting place during the day and a theatre and nightclub in the evening.

On each level the Theatrium is surrounded by bars, shops and even the entrance to the casino. If you like, it’s a bit like having a town square on board ship, a place to meet friends, old and new, at a favourite bar, while music and entertainment is provided in its heart, which you can enjoy to the full or have as a background buzz. More about AIDADiva from page 14.

Carnival movesquickly as Ratcliffe announces retirement

Carnival Corporation & plc has moved quickly to announce two

promotions to come into immediate effect following news of Peter Ratcliffe’s retirement next March. David Dingle has been promoted to chief executive offi cer, Carnival UK with responsibility for the company’s British brands – P&O Cruises, Ocean Village and Cunard Line. He is also appointed chairman of the Carnival plc Management Committee with responsibility for P&O Cruises Australia. Alan Buckelew has been promoted to president and chief executive offi cer of Princess Cruises. Further management changes at Carnival UK are detailed on page 1.

Peter Ratcliffe

Cruise, port and destination Digest

Summer2007

“A trend setter forthe cruise industry”

Fain: Going where we are wanted 27 & 29

Dingle: Europe in a global industry 22

Olesen: The impact of air polution 33

Who said What? Seatrade Miami, Cruise Europe, MedCruise and Cruise3sixty Fain Dickinson Veitch Kruse Dingle Hanrahan Sasso Naylor Pate

Lingard Mehta Krumrine Douwes Cox Diez Forney Oner: Delivering quality shore excursions: 24 Featured Destination: South Corsica: 12

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Summer 2007 Making a Splash | 1

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Reorganisation at Carnival UKDavid Dingle, chief executive offi cer

of Carnival UK, has announced a number of new appointments to meet the demands of integrating the global operations of Cunard into the UK, and the introduction of three new ships, including Ventura for P&O Cruises and Queen Victoria for Cunard Line. All appointments are effective

immediately. Nigel Esdale has been promoted to managing director of P&O Cruises. Peter Shanks has been promoted to chief commercial offi cer, Carnival UK, responsible for Cunard globally and Princess Cruises in the UK. Nick Lighton becomes managing director of Ocean Village and also takes responsibility for all the

air programmes of Carnival UK. In addition, Giles Hawke takes the new title of sales director, Carnival UK. Carol Marlow, who continues in her current role as managing director and president of Cunard, will report to Peter Shanks and Giles Hawke will report to customer services director, Linda Scard.

Costa Crociere’s new, 12 million euros, Palacruceros terminal in

Barcelona was opened by the Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman & CEO, Costa Crociere SpA and a whole host of local dignitaries including the President of the Port Authority Sr. Jordi Valls i Riera. This modern new terminal with its three fl oors, the third being a mezzanine, takes comfort and amenities to another level. Foschi confi rmed that this was a strategic investment designed to deliver the onboard cruise

ship experience from the moment passengers arrived at the terminal. Managed by Costa Crociere SpA, the terminal covers a surface area of almost 10,000 m2 and is large enough to handle the logistics of the largest cruise ships berthing alongside. This year will be a record year for Costa in Barcelona as its 126 calls will bring 330,000 guests (up 65% on 2006), with an economic benefi t for the city of almost €15 million, confi rming its leadership at this major Mediterranean cruise port.

Costa opens new Barcelona terminal

Sans Souci terminal nearing completion

The Port of Santo Domingo is on schedule to complete the

second phase of its redevelopment aimed at integrating the port area with the city to create an attractive destination for cruise ships, yachts and high-end tourism. The new Sans Souci Terminal is due to be completed at the end of this year and has been designed with home porting in mind. The state of the art building combines space flexibility with a design that is respectful to its architectural surroundings. This new terminal will be able to handle 3,800 passengers plus crew and able to accommodate the very largest ships.

Rotterdam attracts four million visitors each year

One of Rotterdam’s main attractions is Diergaarde

Blijdorp, the extensive zoo that includes the Oceanium. Here you can walk through a huge underwater tunnel surrounded by sharks and giant tortoises. Others make their way up to the top of the 185m-high Euromast with its sweeping panoramas of the city and beyond. A more peaceful option is to visit the lovely gardens of Arboretum Trompenburg. Alternatively there are plenty of museums to choose from - Rotterdam offers something for everyone.

Edward Thomas, chief executive offi cer of the West Indian

Company, discusses with Chris Ashcroft a feature in which St. Thomas was revealed as the Caribbean’s shopping mecca.

In terms of economic impact St. Thomas eclipses every other destination surveyed as it accounts for 27% of the total spend by cruise passengers on shopping in the region, or US$236 million,

according to the fi ndings of the BREA study released by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association.

St. Thomas shopping mecca

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2 | Making a Splash Summer 2007

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Terry Dale, Cruise Line International Association’s (CLIA) president

and chief executive offi cer, reveals the team he has brought together to drive the organization forward after the International Council of Cruise Lines was incorporated into CLIA, and the move to Fort Lauderdale was completed.

From left to right: Christine Fischer, director of public relations; Capt. Ted Thompson, senior vice president, technical and regulatory affairs; Donna Curry, manager, events and partnerships; Judy Woods, Washington DC offi ce manager; Jim Lida, director of marketing; Terry Dale, president and chief executive offi cer; Bob Sharak, executive vice president, marketing and distribution; Gaye Stewart-Loudis, director of membership; Stan Deno, director of operations; Michael Crye, executive vice president, technical and regulatory affairs.

Dale’s new CLIA team

Azamara Cruises, a new two ship brand, has been launched by

Celebrity Cruises to join the deluxe brands operating smaller ships. The company believes the market to be ‘underserved’ in this area and the speed of this launch has only been possible as a result of the acquisition of Pullmantur by RCCL, from where

these two 710 passenger ships came.Azamara Journey began sailing

out of Cape Liberty to Bermuda at the beginning of May and she will be deployed to South America in October. Azamara Quest will be operational from October and will sail exotic Caribbean and Panama Canal routes. Both ships will be in Europe for the summer of 2008.

New deluxe brand launched by Celebrity Cruises

Cruise tourism sets records in Australia

The Australian cruise market has experienced another

strong year of growth, with the latest industry statistics showing a record 221,033 Australians took a cruise in 2006. The figure represents an 18 per cent

increase in passenger numbers compared to 2005. In making the announcement, International Cruise Council Australasia’s General Manager Linda Halliday confirmed that the cruise market had become one of the fastest growing sectors of the Australian tourism industry.

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Diamonds International invests again in Belize

Sculptures greet passengers arriving in Venice

The Gianmaria Potenza exhibition of bronze sculptures at the

Port of Venice is now reserved for disembarking cruise passengers to enjoy until 30th September. This is in keeping with the port’s philosophy of promoting a growing number of cultural initiatives to introduce Venetian art to the rest of the world - around one million cruise ship passengers, of all nationalities, are expected to pass through the Venice Passenger Terminal this season. They will see 15 giant sculptures forged from metal and bronze towering over the Terminal Building Dock and the Isonzo Dock, while smaller sculptures will be shown on the 1st fl oor of the terminal, in Sala Torcello. Gianmaria Potenza is famous for having revolutionised the use of materials typical of the Venetian artistic tradition. His bronze sculptures can be four metres or 10 centimetres high. They often rotate, are shaped like stalks and covered with small geometric symbols that are echoes of primitive writing.

The family owned company Diamonds International, one of

the world’s largest jewelry retailers, is now adding more choice at their four locations in Belize.

The company recently opened the exclusive Caribbean star mall where a relaxed yet luxurious buying experience greets the shopper who will fi nd a selection of amazing diamonds, the company’s own exclusive pink panther collection, a wide variety of precious and semi

precious stones and a duty free section that includes liquors, cigars and perfumes.

In August the company opens its new megastore specializing in timepieces for every lifestyle and budget. There will be hundreds of models and styles from over 40 timepiece brands in stock, among them Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Cartier, Chopard, Corum, Girard Perregaux, Movado and the Oprah watch from Philip Stein.

Dubai signs 5 year agreement with Costa

Dubai has cemented its relationship with Carnival Corporation group

brands as Costa Crociere signs a fi ve-year agreement with the Dubai Dept of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, one provision of which will give the group’s brands priority berthing.

St. Kitts gears up for major boost in 2008

Carnival Destiny is set to boost cruise tourism to St. Kitts by 70

% in 2008 as she will be the fi rst cruise ship to visit the island on a weekly basis throughout the year. Carnival Destiny will bring 130,000 passengers next year beginning with its fi rst call on January 10. The ship will spend a full day in port, allowing passengers the maximum amount of time to explore the island’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, rich history, attractions and adventure activities. These include the scenic railway that connects the island’s sugar plantations and Brimstone Hill Fortress, the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage

site in the Eastern Caribbean. More than sixty new taxi drivers have been registered over the past year alone and each is required to complete extensive hospitality training prior to licensing in order to ensure the consistent delivery of a top quality taxi experience.

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North Chinese ports form cruise alliance

In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, a massive

renovation of visitor attractions is under way in Beijing and its surrounding areas. And infrastructure enhancements will improve shoreside facilities in northern China for those seeking to explore the country’s renowned attractions.

Cruise North China, a new marketing alliance composed of Beijing, its seaport of Tianjin, and the two ports of Qingdao and Dalian, is taking this opportunity to utilize the proximity of its ports to the most important tourist sites of Northern China to target the cruise industry with renewed vigour.

Regatta makes its maiden call to Albania

Oceania Cruises’ Regatta has completed its maiden call to

Sarande, Albania. She was the fi rst US ship to call at the port which offers a tour of the ruins at Butrint, an UNESCO World Heritage site, as one its highlights.

NCL’s Norwegian Dream kicked off what is expected to be Stockholm’s

busiest cruise season to date on 13 May. In a sign of Stockholm’s increasing popularity as a cruise destination, a record number of cruise lines are scheduled this year including inaugural calls from Adriatic Cruises’ Dalmacija, AIDA Cruises’ AIDA Aura and Royal

Caribbean International’s Navigator of the Seas.

Stockholm is attractive because it is geographically compact with its main attractions, cafès and shops easily accessible on foot or by public transport. With 27 turnaround calls this season, even more cruise passengers will have time to explore the city before

The Academy of Arts, St. Petersburg is celebrating its 250th Foundation

Anniversary with an exhibition presenting Russian historic paintings of the period 1700-1850, including: Cain, the fundamental work by A. Losenko, founder of the Russian academic art school; Testing the Strength of Jan Usmar by G. Ugryumov; Combat of

Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich the Varmint with Rededya; Prince of the Kasogis, in 1022 by A. Ivanov; Torture of the Saviour by A. Yegorov; The Last Day of Pompeii by K. Brullov and Narcissus, his earlier work; The Death of Camellia, Sister of Horace and The Brazen Serpent by F. Bruni. The exhibition is open until September.

NCMA and NACTA agree to work together

Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance (NCMA) and National Association

of Commission Travel Agents (NACTA) have agreed to work together, principally to create regional travel agent training programmes, and to explore other marketing and education initiatives. The 12 NCMA members have worked together to educate travel agents on the value of concentrating on the sale of specialty cruise products, whereas NACTA’s Home based travel professionals are well known for delivering a highly personalized service.

Stockholm sees increase in turnarounds

250th anniversary

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or after their cruise. Whether their choice is a lunchtime ferry through the archipelago of 24,000 islands, a stroll through Gamla Stan, the Old Town, a visit to one of Stockholm’s many museums, shopping for fi ne crystal or Scandinavian design products, there is plenty to do and see in around Sweden’s capital city.

Bilbao Fine Arts Museum• KISS KISS BANG BANG. 45 years of art and feminism. Up to 9 September.• From Cézanne to Dubuffet, The Jean Planque collection. September – November.

Christmas in BilbaoMuseums, gastronomy, shopping, Christmas lights and urban decoration, Children’s Christmas Funfair, exhibitions of Nativity cribs, dancing, opera, zarzuela, operetta, children’s musicals, craft markets… all with the spirit of the Christmas season. From 1 December to 6 January throughout the City.

Meyer Werft’s newbuildsTwo newbuilds with yard numbers S.687 and S.688 will have a tonnage of 124,000 GT each and are scheduled for delivery in 2011 and 2012. They will have an overall length of 339.8 metres, a breadth of 37.0 metres, and a cabin capacity of 1,250. Disney Cruise Line has waited 10 years since their fi rst ever ships were built at the yard. Deployment decisions have not yet been announced but with Disney Magic sailing the Mediterranean for the fi rst time this season perhaps Europe will see one of them.

Star Flyer debuts in Tahiti

Star Clippers’ new year-round Tahiti program begins 2008 with

170 guests on board Star Flyer is set to begin on 30 December his year. Guests will enjoy an authentic sailing experience exploring the region’s most important island groups, around Tahiti’s lagoons and anchoring overnight inside its atolls. Pre- and post-cruise Tahiti hotel packages include a two-night stay in Papeete, Tahiti; three or four nights in Bora Bora and Taha’a; and a four-night package in the Marquesas.

Valencia has become a delightful blend of old and new with buildings

that have two thousand years of history combining with a group of the most avant-garde buildings built at the turn of the new millennium. And Valencia’s singular identity encompasses a myriad of cultures which every visitor will recognise.

Now the America’s Cup has come to a close Valencia is left with a marvellous marina, the equal of any such facility anywhere in the world. And the 3,000

journalists who have reported on the event will have raised the global profi le of the city through their coverage in newspapers, magazines, television and online services. What’s more it is estimated that the event will have generated 1,500 million euros and created 10,000 jobs. Cruise lines have been quick to capitalise on the city’s high profi le as this year over 200,000 cruise passengers will have stepped ashore off cruise ships, double the fi gure recorded for 2006.

No better way to see the real Belize

A helicopter ride is an exhilarating way of seeing the heart of Belize. Setting off

from Cisco Base, Belize City this adventure takes you to the Mayan Mountain rivers, valleys and waterfalls. The fl ight fi rst takes you over the 100ilm es of the Sibun River. Next is Caves Branch, 58,000 acres of 100 ft rainforest canopy, bordered by turquoise waters of a river of the same name. And then the deep forest of the Mountain Pine Ridge precedes an area full of waterfalls including the largest in Belize and Central America called 1,000 ft Falls – recently proclaimed a National Monument and now open to the public. After viewing the waterfalls, your journey will provide a bird’s eye view of the second-highest elevation in Belize.

Victoria Peak is 3,675 feet high and surrounded by tropical rainforest on the remote northern boundary of the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary which is renowned for being the fi rst Jaguar Reserve.

Shore excursion executives from residenSea, SAGA, P&O Cruises and Thomson Cruises take a break

from evaluating the attractions, activities and tours available from the south Corsican ports of Ajaccio, Bonifacio, Porto-Vecchio, and Propriano. From left to right: Krista Kuzneski, destination services planner for residenSea; Karen Dawney, shore excursion executive for SAGA Shipping Company; Joanna Boxall, shore excursion executive for P&O Cruises and Simone Debrebant, planning & destinations manager, Thomson Cruises.

Valencia benefi ts from the America’s Cup bounce

Caught on camera

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The ‘Nieuw Europa’ complex, now under construction next to the IJ

Tower consists of around 25,000 m2 of offi ce space, a two-level underground car park, and a touring car terminal of around 4000 m2 with parking space for 26 buses. This will provide additional parking to the existing space underneath Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA).

Once completed at the end of December 2009, capacity will increase for tour and transfer buses for the cruise sector. Other initiatives announced that will benefi t the cruise sector include the installation of an extra 31 cameras inside and around the building to safeguard the security of the passengers and crew. And to optimize the traffi c fl ow, PTA has

installed speed gates in the touring car terminal. And work has started to expand the Zouthaven (Salt Harbour) to allow a canal cruise to begin in front of the PTA’s doors, so passengers will be able to transfer immediately from their ship onto a canal cruise boat. Finally, maiden calls to the port of Amsterdam will not have to pay any port dues.

Amsterdam port invests in security, traffi c fl ow and parking capacity

Valletta waterfront enhancements near to completion

Big day for Lisbon

Navigator of the Seas, Queen Mary 2 and Oceana visited Lisbon on the same

day in May and disembarked more than 8,000 passengers in the Portugese capital. In its fi rst year of operation in Europe, Navigator of the Seas is set to visit Lisbon 10 times, up to December, as part of its 14-day cruises in the Mediterranean, setting off from and returning to Southampton. Besides Lisbon, the itinerary includes the ports of Gibraltar, Barcelona, Villefranche, Ajaccio, Palma de Maiorca, Málaga and Vigo.

In order to accommodate increased port of call traffi c, as well as partial

turnarounds from Pullmantur this year and NCL during 2008, extensive infrastructural works are currently underway at the Valletta Waterfront and its surrounding areas. One of the recent projects now in its fi nal stages is the Bridge which will be linking the Pinto Quays to Wine Wharf, Gun Wharf and Deep Water quay. The bridge connection enables passenger fl ows at both terminals to be managed even more effi ciently.

With the new works, Pinto Marina can now be accessed by small Maltese boats, ‘dghajjes’, as was custom in the old days. Apart from being a pleasant attraction for cruise passengers, these will also provide effi cient transport facilities across the Grand Harbour, straight to the historical Three Cities. Works in the new embarkation lounge linked to Pinto Ferry Terminal are also at the concluding stages. The fi nal phase of original works will be completed by end of July.

Dubai World purchases QE2

Dubai World will take delivery of Queen Elizabeth 2 when she is retired

in November 2008. After a refi t she will be permanently docked at The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai at the beginning of 2009. Here the classic liner will be open for onboard stays, dining in her restaurants and visits to her museum.

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Cruise tourism rebounds in New Orleans

Fireworks greet Disney Magic’s arrival in the Med Disney Magic arrived in Barcelona to the sounds of a magnifi cent fi reworks display which could be seen for miles around. The Catalan capital’s warm welcome signalled the start of Disney Cruise Line’s fi rst-ever season in Europe where she will sail 10- and 11-night round trip Mediterranean itineraries from Barcelona to destinations such as Rome (Civitavecchia), Florence (Livorno), Naples and Cannes.

The Trolltrain at EidfjordGet a ride on the trolltrain and experience the wild, beautiful and dramatic western-norwegian nature. The train is on wheels and has a capacity of 50 with departures from Vøringsfoss Cafeteria every hour from 10 am, and from Måbø Gard every half hour. The last departure is at 5.30 pm and the one way journey lasts about 30 minutes. Although the roundtrip is around one hour coaches are on hand to drive the passengers through the tunnels back to Vøringsfoss Cafeteria.

Regent promotes three to VPRegent Seven Seas Cruises has announced three internal vice presidential appointments at its corporate headquarters. Michael Pawlus has been named vice president, itinerary and product planning; Alex Sharpe has been promoted to the position of vice president, destination and revenue management; and Andre Nordseth has been promoted to the position of vice president, cruise hotel operations.

Kiel secures long term contract with MSC MSC Crociere and Seehafen Kiel GmbH & Co. have signed a contract for a period up to the end of 2011, which the Mayor of Kiel, Mrs Angelika Volquartz, and the managing Director of Seehafen Kiel, Dr. Dirk Claus, describe as an important step to strengthening their relationship with MSC Cruises. The cruise line intends to use Kiel as a turnaround port for two of their ships each season.

There has been a resurgence in cruise activity at the Port of New Orleans

in line with the city’s recovering tourist and convention industries as the port expects to top 490,000 passengers this year. The French Quarter, Central Business District, Warehouse District, Garden District and Uptown bounced back quickly after Katrina and are

now experiencing a surge in tourist numbers. The 90,000 square foot Erato Street Cruise Terminal and its 1,000-vehicle parking garage is designed to accommodate the industry’s largest vessels and with the conversion of the Poland Avenue facility, the port and city is poised to continue to invest for future growth.

US northeast ports benefi t from RCI deployments

Royal Caribbean International has released details of its 2008 season

for Explorer of the Seas which will sail on roundtrip itineraries ranging from fi ve to 12 nights to Bermuda, and Eastern and Southern Caribbean from Cape Liberty cruise port. Alternatively there are sailings to New England and Canada on nine-night voyages. There will also be summer and autumn sailings from Baltimore and Norfolk aboard Grandeur of the Seas. Norfolk’s newly constructed Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center is the embarkation port for

Grandeur of the Seas on its fi ve-night Bermuda cruise getaways and the eight- and nine-night voyages to New England and Canada, and nine-night Eastern Caribbean sailings. From Baltimore, Grandeur will sail roundtrip voyages to Bermuda and nine-night cruise vacations to the Eastern Caribbean. Jewel of the Seas returns to Boston in 2008 from where the changing of the foliage and the vivid autumn colors of the New England landscape can be enjoyed on four roundtrip sailings to New England and Canada beginning 20 September.

Azores’ major city, Ponta Delgada, is due to open its new cruise and

passenger terminal before the end of May 2008 to make it easier for cruise ships to berth and provide an up to date facility for passengers to enjoy.

The Cruise Liner Maritime Terminal, which is being built on a 380 meters long quay with an 11 meters draft, is being reserved for technical shipping services and supplies, while disembarking passengers will transit on to a platform connected to the Maritime

Terminal building, leading them to the city or to a pleasant seaside pavement. Parking bays for tourism buses will be above the terminal.

The Maritime Terminal and Commercial Zone building is a complex housing several functions to serve and assist, mostly, inter-island and cruise ships. This maritime structure also includes the Sea Pavilion - a grand plaza, with a cafe, terrace, and a restaurant overlooking the sea. 57 cruise ships are due to call this year, an increase of 12 on the fi gure for 2006.

New terminal complex for Ponta Delgada on schedule

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2008 itineraries for OVPalma de Mallorca has been retained as turnaround port for Ocean Village II’s second season in the Mediterranean next year. The butterfl y itineraries visit Tunis, Rome (from Civitavecchia), Genoa, Monte Carlo (from Villefranche) and Barcelona before returning to Palma for the alternative route to Tunis, Naples, Florence and Pisa (from Livorno), St Raphael and Ajaccio, Corsica. Meanwhile Ocean Village One continues to use Heraklion, Crete as its base for visits to Dubrovnik, Corfu, Cephalonia, Katakolon and Athens, with Cyprus, Rhodes, Ephesus (from Kusadasi), Mykonos and Santorini used for the alternative route.

RCI returns to Norfolk Royal Caribbean International has announced its return to Norfolk, Virginia in 2008. Grandeur of the Seas will sail regular itineraries from the city’s new Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, a $36 million, 80,000-square-foot cruise facility, to Bermuda, the Caribbean and Canada/New England throughout the spring and summer.

Two ports in partnershipThe partnership between Helsingborg, Sweden and Elsinore, Denmark to develop cruise tourism illustrates an understanding of the cruise market and how their locations, in relation to marquis destinations and other ports of call, are best served by working together. Helsingborg and Elsinore, separated by just a few nautical miles, offer the history and culture of the real Scandinavia with its architecture, design, wonderful countryside and delicious cuisine. And just 45 minutes away from the Little Mermaid that awaits visitors to Copenhagen.

NCL’s reduces Hawaiian deployment NCL signaled a reduction in its Hawaiian programme by announcing its Pride of Hawaii is to be re-named Norwegian Jade and redeployed to sail a mix of European itineraries in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Baltic, British Isles and Norway’s North Cape where she will join her sister ships Norwegian Gem and Norwegian Jewel for an extended 2008 season.

An expanded schedule of sailings begins in August 2008 offering 18 voyages

on three ships, a doubling of capacity. Itineraries include a Classic 10-day cruise on Sea Princess between Québec City and New York and seven-day roundtrip voyages from New York on Caribbean Princess. The Classic cruise – Princess’ classic route between New York City and Québec City, calls at Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown, plus an overnight stay in Québec City. The Connoisseur’s cruise on Royal Princess sails

between Montreal and New York on an 11-day itinerary featuring Québec City, Saguenay River Scenic Cruising, Ville Saguenay, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Saint John, Bar Harbor, Boston, and New London. Royal Princess will also offer a special 17-day Canada & Colonial America voyage from Montreal to Port Everglades. This cruise features calls at Québec City, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Portland, Boston, New London, New York City, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Charleston.

Within 100 kilometres of the Gulf of Spezia you can reach Genoa,

Portofi no, Parma, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, the marble caves of Carrara and within minutes - the Cinque Terre -either by land or sea. And for those passengers who have not chosen to participate in any excursions, the city of La Spezia and its immediate surroundings offer shopping centres, museums, restaurants and wine tasting bars. The Gulf of La Spezia is protected

by an outer breakwater of about fi fteen million square metres, providing a protective anchoring position for cruise ships that can operate a tender service without concern. The vessel’s own tenders can be used or the service can be arranged through the local Launch Service Company which has 16 launches available of different sizes, the largest able to carry 350 passengers from the anchoring position to the fl oating dock, which is a distance of about 500 metres.

La Spezia – ideal gateway to Portofi no, Florence and Pisa

Princess increases deployment to Canada/New England

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Gulf of Bothnia has six UNESCO sites

The Swedish ports of Sundsvall, Umea, Lulea and Hudiskvall together with

the Finnish ports of Pori and Rauma in the Gulf of Bothnia offer breathtaking scenery and sightseeing that includes six UNESCO World Heritage sites. Höga Kusten, the geographical Kvarken area’s land raise, the church town Gammelstaden in Luleå, Laponia North West of Jokkmokk for the history of the Sámi people - cultural wilderness, nature, fl ora and fauna, Rauma wooden city and the Rauma Bronze Age graves. Other places of special interest are the Dellen Lakes close to Hudiksvall, the Hemsö fortress near to Sundsvall, an Elk farm in Umeå, Storforsen and the Artic Circle close to Luleå and the Finish culture on display close to Pori.

P&O offers more time in port

An increased number of seven-night cruises to Northern Europe,

the Iberian Peninsula and Ireland are featured in P&O Cruises’ 2008 brochure. Overnight stays are also more prominent at ports such as Madeira, Istanbul, Barbados, Acapulco and New Orleans, to add to the two day stays in Barcelona, Venice and St. Petersburg. Interestingly Artemis will, for the fi rst time since joining the fl eet, offer departures from Montego Bay, New Orleans and Manaus, Brazil. New destinations in the brochure include Molde, Norway, Puerto Chiapas in Mexico, Qaqortoq, Greenland, Roatan in Honduras, Santa Marta, Colombia, Skjolden in Norway, Santo Tomas de Castilla in Guatemala, Jacksonville, USA and Lerwick in Scotland.

New appointment at the Port of Gibraltar

Captain C W Brand Bsc (Hons), DipMarSur MNI, has been

appointed Captain of the Port of Gibraltar. By the time he was in his twenties Captain Brand was serving as skipper on deep sea fi shing vessels and after a period of ten years in the fi shing industry he took up a career in the Merchant Navy where he served for 12 years. After a further period ashore in management, he joined the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch initially as an Inspector, latterly as a Principal Inspector. In February 2005 Captain Brand took up a post with the Government of Gibraltar where he was head of the Gibraltar Maritime Administration.

Brest has a truly Celtic atmosphere and will be a great meeting place for all

those who love boats and the sea from 11-17 July, 2008 when the city marks the fi fth event of its kind with another dazzling festival. Cruise passengers will be able to enjoy a view of the sea with fi reworks, pyrotechnic shows, naval parades, concerts and much else.

Saint-Malo’s port stands in the middle of the old city and the cruise berth is located in front of 300 year old ramparts. It is a golden triangle of tourist attractions

centered around the old-walled city of Saint-Malo, the medieval town of Dinan and Mont Saint-Michel, considered by many to be a marvel of the world.

An annual gathering of the Celtic world is held at the beginning of August in Lorient. This international festival attracts over 4,000 artists from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Galicia, Asturias, Australia, Acadia and Brittany. Many visitors also head to Carnac, one of the most important prehistoric sites in Europe, where there is an alignment

of over 2,000 standings stones known as menhirs, stretching over 4 kilometres.

Belle-Ile-en-Mer, the island of Monet, is an anchorage port that will bring guest to a pier just 50 metres from the city centre. It is the largest of the Breton islands and remarkably unspoilt with fi ne sandy beaches and a wild coast punctuated with cliffs and sea lochs. Claude Monet was fascinated by its incessant atmospheric changes and the transformation of the landscape with the tides.

Brittany’s Celtic connection draws the crowds

Balmoral to be based in Miami

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has announced plans to base its latest acquisition Balmoral

in the United States for the winter season during 2008/2009 to operate a series of eleven Caribbean cruises consisting of 12, 14 and 16-nights’ duration out of Miami, Florida. This deployment will take place

after the vessel has been lengthened by 30 metres to increase capacity by 350 to bring the total lower berth passenger count to around 1,340. Balmoral’s size will allow her to berth alongside the quay in both Road Town, Tortola (British Virgin Islands) and Santo Thomas de Castilla, Guatemala, thus avoiding tender rides completely. The range of ports ranges from Guatemala and Cozumel in the west to Barbados in the east; and from the Bahamas in the north to Isla Margarita in the south.

Splendor’s Dover debut

The inaugural 2008 season of Carnival Splendor, Carnival Cruise Lines’ new

113,300-ton, 3,006 passenger ship will include the line’s fi rst 12-day Northern Europe program operating round-trip from London (Dover) from 13 July to 30 August. Ports of call include Copenhagen; Warnemunde (Germany); Helsinki; St. Petersburg; Tallin (Estonia); and Amsterdam. After a repositioning cruise to the Mediterranean the line will operate three Mediterranean cruises from September 23, before crossing the Atlantic on October 29 for its winter deployment sailing out of Port Everglades to the Caribbean.

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Featured destination: South Corsica

Relax,you’re in South Corsica

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Featured destination: South Corsica

Here is an island set in the middle of a clear blue sea that simply requires you

to choose between a relaxing time on the beach, some adventure activities or a spot of culture; a destination where you can discover ancient ruins, Napoleonic history as well as snorkelling in almost deserted sandy coves; sea food which is as good as it gets, where wildlife and colourful fl owers abound, and where the locals are proud of their fi ne wine which is a great accompaniment to meals that can be gastronomique or characterised by simplicity - roasted meats, shell fi sh and the locally produced hard cheeses. Corsica, and more precisely south Corsica, delivers these choices.

Set in the heart of the Mediterranean between France and Italy, south Corsica boasts sandy beaches and coves with a natural backdrop of towering mountains that rise steeply from the sea – untouched for thousands of years. Mother Nature certainly dealt Corsica a wonderful set of cards. And sports enthusiasts have everything from quad biking to scuba diving, windsurfi ng to kite surfi ng to choose from.

Ajaccio is Napoleon’s city, a bustling city, where the street names, statues and monuments all evoke the memory of Napoleon Bonaparte. You can visit the family home and the cathedral where he was baptised as well as the Imperial chapel. A Napoleon collection is also housed in the Fesch Museum, alongside

masterpieces from Boticelli and Bellini, and much more. Narrow streets and picturesque open markets depict this compact, bustling city. And yet, within a matter of minutes, you can fi nd yourself surrounded by mountains with panoramic views of crashing waves set against a beautifully unspoilt terrain – places where it would be easy to imagine that you’ve stepped back to a time when cars and planes were not even invented.

At the southern most point of the island sits Bonifacio, a town perched high up on a white cliff peninsula. It is the best known town in Corsica and the upper town, founded in 833 by Boniface, Count of Tuscany, has a distinctly mediaeval air. Houses with open stair cases leading off the pedestrian walkways are best remembered by their extraordinarily steep steps. The down town area bustles with shops and restaurants set around its quaint harbour.

Deluxe cruise lines have a choice of four ports of call, Ajaccio, Bonifacio, Propriano and Porto-Veccio, each with a distinctive charm, while the lines with the much larger ships have the choice of a berth at Ajaccio or an anchorage position at the other three ports.

Whether you’re after crafts and culture or simply sun, sea and sand a visit to one these four ports of call will provide a welcome contrast of a very different part of France, as well as a relaxing alternative to the marquis cities on Italy’s mainland. �

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Featured ship christening: AIDADiva

A crowd of up to half a million lined the banks of the river

Elbe in Hamburg to witness a spectacular laser, sound and fi reworks display unlikely to be seen again, in celebration of AIDADiva in Hamburg. The publicity generated by this event would most certainly have consolidated AIDA’s dominant position in the German market and signaled the beginning of a new era for the company.

AIDADiva marks another milestone for AIDA Cruises, not simply as the ship is the largest ever built for the brand at 65,000 tons and 2,050 passengers, but because the design marks a new era of life on board as the theatre has been positioned in the heart of the ship – a new concept in the recent history of cruise ship design.

The three leisure decks of the AIDADiva have an open, seamless design where spaces merge towards the focal point – the Theatrium – an open circular space spanning all three decks, from which springs bars, shops and even the casino, to provide a spacious and casual ambience. The roof is glass domed and the enormous glass walls of this section of the ship combine to provide a wonderfully light, bright and quiet space in the morning, a meeting place by day and a night club atmosphere at night.

Apart from the potential impact of this feature on future ship design, the technical obstacles of placing the Theatrium in the centre of the ship were immense as Bernard Meyer, Managing Partner of Meyer Werft, alluded to during his speech on the evening of the christening ceremony, when he said:

“In November 2004 we signed a contract for two AIDA vessels and since then we have worked closely together to create a new and very innovative product. This ship is totally different to all passenger ships and cruise liners. And one of the things is the theatre – can you imagine making a hole in the ship where normally we have the thickest steel plates for the strength of the vessel? So we had to consider a lot of factors technically, architecturally, and materially to fulfi l the requirements for this brand new vessel. And I’m sure that this vessel will be a trend setter for the cruise industry.

“Last Monday when we delivered the ship to the owner, Mr. Thamm said to me: many people could be envious of you for doing such a nice

The Theatrium An innovative spathe heart of the sh

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ah

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Featured ship christening: AIDADiva

ace at hip

job and being so creative, what do you think? and I agreed with him. This ship is now ready so that we can have this wonderful festival, light show, dinner and it is only through the cooperation of a lot of people – about 10,000 people have built this vessel. Besides Meyer Werft, more than 1,000 subcontractors have been involved and today I want to thank all those who have done their part in creating this wonderful ship. I want to say thank you to Mr Arison, Chairman & CEO of Carnival Corporation & Plc together with Howard Frank, Vice Chairman and COO of Carnival Corporation & Plc and Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman & CEO of Costa Crociere SpA – for having the confi dence in the small Meyer Werft in Papenburg to build this new creation for your AIDA brand. I also want to mention and say thank you to the bankers who helped us fi nance this vessel before and after delivery. And I would like to thank the classifi cation society who worked with us to build this ship according to the latest international safety regulations. And I want to make a special thanks to the architects – their team are the fathers of this ship – and for their many ideas on this vessel. And together with them it shows that future vessels, especially for the German market, need a lot of brains.

“I wish the Captain, the crew and the ship always have enough water, always enjoy good weather and that it makes a lot of money for the owners – because we don’t only want to build four ships for them, we want to build more”.

Bernard Meyer was clearly proud of the company’s achievements in building this new generation of ship for AIDA Cruises of which Diva is the fi rst of four. Other notable changes to this evolving product is that there will be over 65% of outside cabins most of them with balconies. There will be over 2,000 square metres of fi tness and spa facilities and, of the six restaurants on board, the Rossini Buffalo Steak Restaurant, the Sushi Bar and the Pizzeria are new additions to the buffet choices normally found on board AIDA ships.

The spectacular light, sound and fi reworks display to announce the arrival of AIDA’s new generation of ship certainly achieved its objective and now the company simply has to prepare for the introduction of sister ships in each of the next three years. �

Bernard Meyer

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Featured ship christening: AIDADiva – interior

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Featured ship christening: AIDADiva – interior

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AIDAdiva set off on its maiden cruise from Hamburg on April 30.

The inaugural voyage took the ship through the English Channel with a stop in Le Havre before heading along the Atlantic coast with visits to Vigo, Lisbon and Cadiz. After passing through the Straits of Gibraltar AIDAdiva berthed in Valencia before setting off to Palma de Mallorca, which has become its base for regular 7-night Mediterranean cruises during the summer. From here she will rotate three different routes from a mix of 10 ports of call, of which fi ve are Italian. Route one includes calls at Cannes, Genoa, Civitavecchia and Ajaccio in Corsica. The second route has Civitavecchia, Livorno, Cannes and Barcelona as ports of call. And the third route sees the ship berthing at Tunis, Valetta, Catania in Sicily, and Naples.

In September AIDAdiva moves to Tenerife in the Canary Islands to begin a series of 7-night cruises around the Canary Islands and Madeira. The Canary Islands consist of a mix of large and small islands, 13 in all, lying some 100 kilometres off the north-west coast of Africa. Fuerteventura has the oldest history and some of the best beaches in Europe. The capital, Puerto

de Rosario, is the oldest town of all the islands. Lanzarote is sometimes referred to as the island of 100 volcanoes. La Palma has a culture that is full of traditions, cuisine, crafts and folklore and a wide variety of natural archaeological riches. Las Palmas is the largest city in the Canary Islands and has the district of Vegueta, the oldest quarter of town, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. And Tenerife is an island of contrasts, landscapes formed from the twisted lava rock combines with all that goes with being a highly popular resort destination. Funchal, the capital city of Madeira is around 400 kilometres from Gran Canaria, and has many historical monuments, squares and streets but the island is also known for its fl ora and fauna, picturesque villages, dramatic landscapes, and rugged coast lines.

Throughout the winter AIDAdiva sails just one route from Santa Cruz, Tenerife visiting fi ve of the Canary islands as well as an overnight stay at the island of Madeira. The full itinerary includes calls at Santa Cruz in La Palma, Puerto del Rosario on Fuertventura, Arrecife in Lanzarote and the Gran Canaria city of Las Palmas. �

AIDADiva’s inaugural itineraries

Featured ship christening: AIDADiva – itineraries

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Featured ship christening: AIDADiva – host port

Hamburg has become one of Europe’s ten most popular

destinations. Perhaps it can be explained by its reputation as one of Germany’s most beautiful cities with parks and green spaces, waterways and woods covering almost half the area within the city boundaries. On the other hand there is a buzz about the place, an energetic, vibrant atmosphere that is self evident if you walk along the canals and lakes among shops and galleries where street artists and jazz musicians enhance the experience of this Hanseatic city on the Elbe.

The catalyst for this renaissance can be laid at the door of Hamburg’s civic leaders and their the bold decision to transform the land between the river and the city centre into a new city district known as the HafenCity. When completed this 155- hectare site will have expanded downtown by 40 percent turning Hamburg into an increasingly global city. This new

downtown area will create retail and leisure facilities, bars and restaurants, and cultural amenities. And in keeping with the character of the old city there will also be parks, squares and promenades. This is now taking shape with several quarters simultaneously being completed. And work has begun on the Elbe Philharmonic Concert Hall on the rooftop of Kaispeicher A, where the roof of the upper auditorium has been designed as a sea of waves – linking the old harbour traditions to the new cultural identity of HafenCity.

The most recent building to be opened in the HafenCity was the BallinStadt Museum, the museum of emigration. On the 5th July, Ole von Beust, the fi rst mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, inaugurated the BallinStadt museum in the presence of Duane Butcher, consul general of the United States of America, Michael Behrendt, executive chairman of the Hapag-Lloyd AG

and Dr. Werner Marnette, executive chairman of the Norddeutsche Affi nerie AG. Visitors to the BallinStadt are able to experience an emigrant’s way of life reconstructed through six different theme halls, from leaving home to crossing the Atlantic and their arrival in New York. The museum has a database with more than 600 million entries to enable visitors to research the emigration history of their ancestors. This will have particular appeal to the 58 million Americans who have German ancestory.

Early next year Kaispeicher B, which has already been refurbished, will be ready to open as The International Maritime Museum of Hamburg. An enormous collection of 27,000 ship models and 35,000 design plans of ships, in addition to a multitude of nautical devices, paintings, and charts will form the basis of the permanent exhibition showing 3,000 years of nautical history. The building will

Hamburg’srenaissance

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Featured ship christening: AIDADiva – host port

also be the home to the Institute of Navigation and Marine History.

With very good reason the HafenCity development integrates the best of the old buildings with the swathe of the new. Afterall Hamburg is known for its magnifi cent architectural heritage. Across the city there are fi ne examples of Art Nouveau mixed with the characteristic red brick buildings. Hamburg’s Town Hall, known as the Rathaus, is a good example of a neo-Renaissance style. Completed in 1897, the Town Hall dominates the city centre and where a good lunch can be had in its Parlament restaurant. A tour of its interior includes a visit to grand banquet hall which is 46 metres long, 18 metres wide and 15 metres high. Five huge paintings depict the history of the city over the 800 years up to 1900 adorn the walls, interspersed with 62 coats of arms of the cities of the ancient Hanseatic League.

A stroll along the Alster Arcades

which run parallel to the Alsterfl eet, is another pleasure as the four original buildings still standing, have their old street lamps, iron balustrades, gold-plated fi sh and tridents set between their rounded arches. And the Jungfernstieg, a shopping street and promenade, has become something special to locals because of its historic importance. This is where Hamburger Hof, Galleria and Alte Post are to be found – high-class boutiques, both large and small, live side by side with antique shops, bookshops and cafes.

An excellent panorama of the city can be viewed from the top of the 132 metre high spire of St. Michaelis church. From here you will see the many spires of this Hanseatic city, its parks and open spaces, its lakes and canals, its HafenCity development, the river Elbe and much more.

Like any global city Hamburg’s transport links are vital to its

ambitions and are very much part of its development. Berlin is a 90 minute train journey away and airlift into its international airport is rising and the number of direct fl ights to New York and Toronto has increased, bringing even more Americans to the city. And with the Ballinstadt ‘Emigration’ museum now open, there is the likelihood of further routes opening up.

The boom in land based tourism can only have helped the development of cruise tourism as the city’s vision and renaissance has taken a hold of the life of the city. Hamburg Cruise Center has already responded to the cruise boom when a second temporary terminal was opened in April 2006 and a second mooring area expanded. Now two larger ships can be cleared at the same time. By 2011, when this popular, round-the-clock part of the city will be complete, there will be a new terminal building to greet the new generation of cruise ships heading to Hamburg. �

CONTACT DETAILSGeneralNadine PalatzHamburg Cruise Center e.V.Steinstrasse 7, 20095 HamburgTel: +49 – 40 – 30051 393Fax: +49 – 40 – 30051 396E-Mail: [email protected]: www.HamburgCruiseCenter.de

Press Offi ceIne Bösche – Hamburg Tourismus GmbHLeiterin Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Steinstraße 7,20095 HamburgTel: +49(0)40-300 51 111Fax: +49(0)40-300 51 220E-mail: [email protected]: www.hamburg-tourismus.de

The newly opened BallinStadt Museum

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Executive commentary

Europe’s place in a global industryDavid Dingle, Chief Executive Officer, Carnival UKChairman, European Cruise Council

The cruise industry is playing an increasingly important role in

the economic growth of Europe. Its contribution is already a staggering €19.1 billion, and we can predict that this will grow by a further 50%, to almost €30 billion, over the next four years.

Cruising is, of course, not a just European phenomenon – it is a truly global industry, in which every part of the world is engaged, as a source market, a cruise destination, a supplier of labour, a builder of ships. The main strength of our industry is its global nature.

Across the world are source markets at various levels of maturity. America – the largest and longest established market, but still growing strongly and hugely attractive due to sheer scale. Europe – now showing many of the characteristics of America 10 years ago, and growing as quickly. Australia and South America – tertiary markets now of a size to merit dedicated ships of their own. And Asia – if played right, a valuable opportunity for longer term development.

There is no part of the world still untouched by cruise tourism. Whilst the Caribbean and Mediterranean remain the most visited areas, newer destinations such as South America and the Pacifi c Ocean have perhaps the highest growth rates.

All this gives the cruise industry a remarkable fl exibility and an ability to respond to commercial conditions. Unlike other members of the leisure industry our assets are mobile. We can move our ships to respond to relative levels of growth in markets around the world. We can respond to a host of external factors, which could range from extreme weather to security concerns to adverse fi scal conditions – simply by redeploying our vessels. This context could be a whole area of the world, or maybe just one country.

Our industry has an ever-increasing choice of countries and continents from which it can source its crews. Emerging economies in particular, through their rapidly increasing standards of education and training, can produce offi cers and ratings capable of fi lling any position on the most complex, most sophisticated and most luxurious vessels.

Cruise ship building is mainly confi ned these days to the highly skilled and experienced ship yards of Europe, but let’s not forget that Japan, for instance, has in recent years also produced some outstanding vessels.

So in this highly dynamic global cruise industry, what do cruise companies look for in Europe?

As a source market Europe has the fastest growth rates in the world, some 9% per annum. And with almost 80% of Europeans taking their cruise in Europe, cruise tourism in Europe will grow at least as fast, remembering that all the while security issues remain under control, Americans too will continue to cruise in Europe in record numbers.

But to allow this growth to happen, all the stakeholders involved in cruising must continue to respond to the opportunity. In particular, we must avoid the potential congestion which is beginning to overburden some Caribbean ports by encouraging ports here to develop their facilities – the larger ports by giving cruise ships berthing priority and by building new berths and terminals, the smaller ports by improving on often minimal facilities or improving anchorages.

Europe has a great opportunity to continue as the main source for the highly skilled labour on our ships. Whilst semi-skilled and unskilled positions are taken mainly by those from other parts of the world, Europe, through its longstanding maritime excellence, still provides the best

trained marine and technical offi cers. But only by preparing students to work in the maritime sector through syllabuses and specialised educational establishments, and by raising the integrity and attractiveness of marine qualifi cations can we ensure that our European workforces can continue to prosper from the fast-growing cruise industry.

The major scale and signifi cance of the cruise industry in Europe is that all stakeholders, and most particularly policy makers at both national and European level, have the opportunity and responsibility to continue to support the highly commendable growth record of the industry. For this to happen, Governments must continue to appreciate the global nature of the cruise industry – Europe has to compete on a global stage on which cruise ships can so easily move their locations and even their source markets to other parts of the world. So in fi scal, employment and environmental policy-making, Europe must legislate in a competitive, not a protectionist manner. Legislation must continue to be applied with a light touch since otherwise cruise lines will go elsewhere for their manpower, their customers and their ports of call. The Maritime Policy Green Paper sets as its goal the ongoing growth of European shipping whilst respecting the demands which this places on environment and infrastructure. Through the Green Paper’s proactive support of our industry I hope that our key issues are fully addressed.

The avoidance of restrictive practices and the encouragement of investment in infrastructure will help to make the cruise industry a yet more valuable contributor to the European economy and I hope to be able to celebrate growth and the partnerships forged between all of us working at the European level. �

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The delivery of a quality shore excursion in a demanding marketplace Erkhunt Oner, Owner, Tura Turizm, Istanbul

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The cruise industry fi nds itself in an extraordinary period of growth not

simply in terms of the number of new ships being launched but because their size is allowing designers to combine new technology with imagination and creativity to wow passengers with great new amenities and attractions on board.

In line with these trends cruise operators are focusing on classic marketing tools to fi ll their ships. While all modern cruise ships offer excellent services onboard and are trying to widen the scope of their facilities, the cruise product is of course more than the onboard experience. The focus now has switched to the shoreside experience as the destinations that make up today’s itineraries are an important ingredient in the cruise package, especially in Europe. This brings its own set of challenges because there is no doubt that existing destinations need to improve and new ones need to be discovered and developed. But a destination’s attractiveness can be enhanced at existing sites with a creative, well managed approach to delivering high quality shore excursions.

Appealing shore excursions at attractive destinations contribute to the consumer’s choice of a cruise as well as providing a considerable amount of onboard revenue for the cruise operator. The delivery of those excursions is not simply a question of laying on coaches and guides. Just as the onboard product is evolving at an extraordinary pace so is the delivery of the shore excursion experience.

In the Turkish cities of Kusadasi, Istanbul and Izmir the principles that guide Tura Turizm in the delivery of high quality shore excursions may look obscure and hard to implement, yet they are not so complicated and often obvious.

Hospitality: Guests step ashore onto a special VIP red carpet to the sounds of an authentic Janissary Ottoman Band. A hospitality desk provides information and maps to those who have not booked an excursion.

Creativity: At Ephesus, for example, guests are treated to an interactive show consisting of 50 professional performers enacting scenes of Ephesus during the Roman period (see photos to the right). Each guest is provided with an authentic replica of an entrance tablet, used as tickets in that period, and they can be worn as pandantif.

Innovation: A coach has been converted into a sanitary unit – a mobile WC, suitable for handicapped guests, which is very much appreciated by all guests. This service has been introduced as the sanitary facilities tend to be inadequate at venues.

Technology: The latest generation of

head sets has been introduced for guided tours. These work within a range of 150 meters enabling guests to listen to the guide while they are enjoying the venue at their own pace. This device also avoids delays in rounding up guests, especially on congested days.

Security: As a continuity of ISPS, our guests are provided with a private security services. SSS (Shorex Security Standards) is a discreet security service operated by a professional company, who are deployed during our excursion programs at all the sites visited.

Health and Safety: At all venues, shopping areas and parking lots an ambulance is available in case of an unexpected emergency to provide fi rst aid on spot.

Environmental awareness: The Company believes strongly in the environment. As a consequence only recycled materials are used and recycled bins are placed at all venues. In the Ephesus Mountains and in vicinity of Virgin Mary trees are planted for each guest and they are presented with a plantation certifi cate.

Diversifi cation: Each year the company increases the number of shore excursion offerings by adding new venues and offer individual activities for small groups of repeaters.

Quality: A core value for the company which affects all parts of the tour including coaches, guides, restaurants and meeting points.

Personal touch: Guest satisfaction is another core value. This means using a professional team, fl uent in foreign languages, who speak to guests throughout the tour to establish whether the experience is meeting expectations. This enables the team to be proactive in dealing with any concerns. Even when very large numbers are on tour the objective is to make contact with every guest. Guests are also offered bottles of cold water, refreshing towels, evil eye beads - a typical Turkish souvenir, fl owers to ladies or a glass of complimentary cold wine after a long tour.

Standardization: All 28 people in our Shore excursions team wear orange and khaki uniforms so that they can be easily spotted everywhere, and guides are trained off season. The Company operates a department named the “Call Center” which is a unique concept that monitors the duration spent at each venue, on all the tours operated, to ensure that it is on schedule.

Service fl exibility: Standardization does not equate to infl exibility. The company is fl exible enough to answer the particular needs of different nationalities when they occur.

Time management: The Company provides each tour guide with a schedule detailing the exact length of time their group should spend at each venue with a brief regarding the requirements of the tour which is controlled by the “Call Center”. Timings for each guide are scheduled to avoid congestion at the venues.

Thanks to these principles and the experience and professionalism of the personnel at Tura Turizm - accumulated over 41 years in the business - guest satisfaction ratings reached 99% in 2006 based on the analysis of the 50,000 questionnaires returned to the company by guests.

In today’s cruise sector, attention to detail is a prerequisite of a company delivering quality shore excursions. Only in this way will guests return to their ships having experienced a memorable time ashore. But the Tura Turizm does not rest on its laurels as it tries to come up with new ideas and innovations to implement each year. �

Erkunt Oner was awarded an International Relations degree at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Internationales at the Sorbonne, Paris. He established his own travel and shipping agency in 1966 and has been active in the cruise oriented travel fi eld, owned and managed various sized cruise ships and ferries. He was a lecturer at the University of Istanbul between 1990 and 2000 and has been an Honorary Consultant to the Ministry of Tourism and to theTurkish Maritime Authorities.

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Who said What? Seatrade Miami

Who said What?The state of the industry debate at Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami witnessed a welcomed new format this year. Each cruise line executive was given the opportunity to present his views on a specific subject. Who said what? These are the edited highlights.

The demands of ship size on destination choiceRichard D. Fain, Chairman and chief executive offi cer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited

“The industry is growing and the ships are getting larger. Are the

destinations keeping up with that? That was a question I recall asking when we were designing Splendour of the Seas in 1985. We can’t exist without the cooperative attitude of the destinations we go to and they need us and we’ll both succeed together on this. What has happened and I think Dan [Hanrahan] described it very well, was the growth of the ports. Who would have imagined that Costa Maya, fi ve years ago, would have reached 1 million passengers? One of the factors that goes into our process when we consider deployment is of course the yields – which itineraries get the best yields. But we also look at which place wants us the most, cruise lines are like everyone else, they go where they are wanted. Which place has the best activities for our passengers because if they don’t have a good time they won’t come back.

“It’s not simply the pier facilities. It’s the whole infrastructure, it’s all the tourism that’s available throughout the destination. One of the more interesting initiatives that the industry has, [began] two or there years ago [when] ICCL, now CLIA, partnered Conservation International (CI). We have a partnership that has been working very well in order to enhance our ability to work with local destinations to make sure we have the most positive impact on the destinations from an ecological and environmental, as well as social, impact. That’s a partnership the cruise industry is very proud of, but perhaps more important is the fact that I know that CI points that out as one of its success stories. And I also know that many of the destinations with whom I talk fi nd the partnerships have yielded positive benefi ts for them as well.”

Europe’s accelerating growth Rick Sasso, President and chief executive offi cer, MSC Cruises Inc.

“The top reasons why Europe will be extremely successful

– fi rstly – enormous yield potential – the revenue and the yield generated in the Mediterranean and Europe are extraordinary. The international appeal of the destinations of Europe is extraordinary. Think about all the ports one can visit on a seven day cruise. The fl uency of the market. Our American guests, who can buy a European cruise in US dollars, have an enormous vacation opportunity in Europe, to the old world. Look at sourcing from Europe, people are becoming wealthier as they are here in the United States.

“And look at the density of 300 to 400 million people living in what we would call a drive-to market and see how easy it is for them to fi nd a ship. If you look at the population of the ports and the wealth of the ports we can visit, it’s extraordinary. And if you think of supply, and we’re adding supply

almost on a weekly basis as an industry, certainly MSC is leading the way with 4 or 5 ships on the horizon, to operate in the European environment.

“There is one thing that happens in a market and it happened here [in the USA] 35 years ago – it was under penetrated. There weren’t enough people, there wasn’t enough marketing going on, there wasn’t enough supply and so we changed all that. We put in the supply, we created the marketing - more television than ever before, that’s going to start happening in Europe too because it’s a completely under penetrated market - 1% penetration. It [the market] will certainly accelerate faster than it did here in North America. And there is a lot of potential for us to source business in Europe. The opportunity is far greater than the enthusiasm we apply. My optimism is not driven by enthusiasm, it’s the enthusiasm that is driven by the optimism that I see in the industry.”

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The Caribbean’s uniqueness and importanceStein Kruse ,President and chief executive offi cer, Holland America Line

“Geography is far from being dead, the industry keeps geography

fresh and exciting. As time has been compressed we have actually more opportunity to explore. And the Caribbean is where it all began… and it will continue for a very long time to come. There has been some suggestion that the Caribbean is no longer as desirable for the cruise industry as it has been, to that I say, not so. There

will be more cruise ships and more passengers coming to the Caribbean in the years ahead. Being as close to the US mainland as the Caribbean is, and being a full year round destination as well as a seasonal deployment area for ships during the winter months, it is unique and extremely important. And when, not if, but only when Cuba becomes a destination option to the North American operators, another exciting chapter in the modern cruise industry will begin.

“Our industry is a responsible and mature industry and we recognise the fragile nature of the earth’s wonders and we also recognise the importance

of keeping the oceans clean. We have an added motivation – it makes good business sense.”

The good and bad news in distribution Bob Dickinson, President and chief executive offi cer, Carnival Cruise Lines

“In 2007 travel agents will sell more cruises than they ever have in

their history. And they’ll make more money than they ever have in their history based on the new ships coming - a trend that will continue for many years to come. That’s the good news.

“The bad news for the travel agent community is that it is very diffi cult to fi nd young people and entice them into a career as a full service travel agent. The interest just isn’t there. There is some concern that full service agents may end up as home lines. We don’t know the answer to that but it is something that is very, very concerning. At the same time we see in the CLIA membership that the vast majority of agencies are home based agencies and they are very focused and very specialised. It continues to be the agents that specialise in cruise [who] do very, very well and those that specialise in a limited number of cruise

lines do very well indeed. That’s more good news.

“Making up some of the loss of the traditional full service agency is a burgeoning growth in, what I call, call centres activity. Some of these are traditional agencies and there are non traditional agents who have enormous call centres with 300-500 people in one room. They are specialising, typically in cruises, they are very knowledgeable and they’re getting a larger and larger share of the distribution. That’s good news in one sense, bad news in another. One of the things that happens as a result of the changes in distribution is that the percentage of fi rst timers is declining. And that is a lost opportunity. There are perhaps 54million in the United States that have taken a cruise and are still alive. There’s anther 100 million who have raised their hand and said ‘I’m fi ne with cruising, I’m down for that, I want to get to cruising in the next several years. And it’s very, very hard to tap into those people unless agents and others in the distribution are being proactive and basically weaning people away from resorts and hotels, which is how the industry did so well in the beginning.

“My concern going forward is that the percentage of fi rst timers has to be something that the typical travel agent, whether it’s full service or a home agent, needs to focus on. Fewer than 5% of travel agents could tell us what percentage of their clientele were fi rst timers. They are just not measuring that and if that’s not a goal of the agency that is basically going to affect the cruise lines because the

travel agent is not being consistent and continues to be a very large source of cruise customers. So there’s a problem in distribution but those problems are opportunities. I think it’s an opportunity for CLIA and their travel agent members to continue the dialogue to explain the opportunities for fi rst time cruisers on the one hand, and to create more people in travel agent distribution as their career path.”

Ports and destinations - the visionaries of the future?Dan Hanrahan, President, Celebrity Cruises & Azamara Cruises

“I think there is potential for the new visionaries of the industry

to be the ports and destinations and do things like Costa Maya has done, as Barcelona has done, as St. Maarten has done because, it sounds trite, but if you build it we will come. And with all the new capacity there is tremendous opportunity for the ports and destinations to work with the cruise lines to develop really interesting places for us to go beyond the traditional places we go today. I never sit in a deployment development meeting when we aren’t talking about what’s new out there, and what new things are happening. Our port development people sit in these meetings and help us think about new places to go. Ports have an opportunity to become the visionaries of the future and so there’s a real opportunity to go to places we haven’t been to before. It’s your oyster, I would say.”

26-28-Miami.indd 28 16/7/07 19:34:36 26-28-Miami.indd 29 16/7/07 19:34:38



Why there is revenue softness in the Caribbean Colin Veitch, President and chief executive officer, NCL Corporation

“It’s something going on in the economy. We’ve been

here many times before, this is a temporary softness and we’ll come out of it again. But until you really see what’s been going on in the last few years you can doubt, and you can come up with all these other explanations. The reality is that we’ve been very fortunate in the last few years to have ordered many more ships, at the end of the 90’s, which have come into service during a period when there has been a very strong consumer market. That is now faltering a little and there is softness in the market. But as I said, we’ve been there many times before.”

Veitch went on to show how the housing market appreciated in value twice as quickly in the eight year period from 1998 to 2006 than it did during the preceding 18 years from 1980 to 1998 – 9% per annum as opposed to 4%. He also showed that a negative savings ratio developed in 2005. The third influencing factor he sited was the cost of fuel, in particular gasoline, which jumped from $1.5 to $3.0 a gallon.

“The consumer at the low end of the market is being pinched. It’s not a disaster but he’s being pinched. 4% of consumer spending is now on gasoline or at least it was when it was $3 a gallon. That’s a big difference as 2% of your income is being spent on it. An

extra 2% of your income going on increased fuel price means you can’t spend it on anything else, unless you borrow more against your home to fund that. And so what happened is that the percentage of personal consumption spending on recreation, which includes vacations, very slowly moderated, it went down from 4.15% to 4.05%. That’s a very small movement in percentage but over a population of 300 million people, that’s a sizeable reduction. It also means that at the low end of the market, the most sensitive price point, consumers are affected before others.

“You can see that, not in our industry, but in resort hotels. The percentage change in hotel room demand by pricing segment - luxury, mid-priced, budget - moved reasonably in tandem, and until the middle of 2005 they all experienced a quarter by quarter, month by month, growth in net demand - how much demand is growing versus how much supply is growing. So if demand is growing faster than supply then you’ll get positive net demand. It peaked in 2005 and then you’ll see particularly the budget and mid-priced segments going on a downward trend and going into negative territory half way through 2005. The luxury end is still growing – it’s not growing at the same pace as it was, but it’s still in that 0-2% range. But the medium-priced and budget priced have gone into negative territory, although not into a dive.

“So I make the case that it’s economic factors which are going on in the Caribbean, it’s a slow down in consumer spending that we’ve got. The Caribbean is still a very attractive region. The cruise product is still great. It’s still better than any other product. The new ships that are arriving continue to grow the market. The demographics are strongly in our favour with the ageing population and the expansion of the family product, but the lower price point consumer has been squeezed. We’ve been here before, we know how to cope with it, we know how to ride it through. And the comments that have been made on the distribution side are very pertinent because when demand is slowing down your task is marketing, generating demand, and

cultivating a long relationship with the distribution system to further generate that demand. This is a very strong industry and I’d much rather be in this business in the softening economic circumstance than any other.”

The signifi cance of demographicsRichard D. FainChairman and chief executive officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited

“In the long run, the really important part of success in any

industry, particularly one that is as far reaching and as broad as the cruise industry, is the demographics of the customers. More and more today you are seeing the focus on special groups, ethnic groups, such as Hispanics, as a category to be marketed to. African Americans are still today a small proportion of our passenger base but growing in importance to cruise lines and society as a whole because of size and demographic growth.

“While the overall trends continue to be terrifi c and continue to drive us as an industry in various directions, you are also seeing a lot more of narrowly defi ned demographic groups. And you see that the cruise industry is doing a better and better job of focusing on more than just a broad range of Americans, or a broad range of British, or Italians, or Germans, or Spanish or whatever passenger you may be targeting.

“One of the beauties of cruising has always been just how broad an appeal it is. If you do go onboard a cruise ship you’ll see that you are, in most cases, looking at a broad cross section of society and what is a little bit different about cruising is that it is able to satisfy, more than satisfy, such a broad range of people, income levels, age groups etcetera.

“One of the areas that doesn’t get commented on enough would be the physically challenged. In the United States today 54 million are designated as disabled. The interesting and somewhat surprising thing is that those people actually have a greater propensity to travel than the US population as a whole. One of the better indicators of that is that we have recently had the Freedom of the Seas chartered to a group of hearing impaired consumers.” �

26-28-Miami.indd 29 16/7/07 19:34:38


Cruise Europe AGM Bornholm

Cruise Europe held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the

northern coast of Bornholm, the Danish island in the Baltic Sea, from 9 to 11 May 2007. Over 77 delegates representing 50 north European member ports attended the event and they were joined by executives from Carnival UK, MSC Cruises, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Holland America Line, as well as representatives of the European Commission, the National Environmental Research Institute and the international press. The host, Captain Hans Kumler, director of the port, welcomed delegates to the ‘Baltic Pearl’ which is the name given to Bornholm by the locals. The programme was packed with presentations, regional meetings, a glimpse of some of the island’s most historic sites and tremendous

Bornholm hospitality. Edited highlights of fi ve of the presentations are published from pages 32 to 37.

The setting of the AGM was the quaint hamlet of Sandvij, named after the sandy cove around which all the hotels and half timbered houses are perched. This is a delightful, cosy place where groups of young children can be seen wandering around the village, carefree and safe, after school. A short walk along the coast brings you to Hammerodde lighthouse which was built in 1895 and from where all the lighthouses of Bornholm are managed electronically.

Two kilometers from Sandvij is the medieval fortress of Hammershus, the largest castle ruin in Northern Europe. Its elevated hilltop location made it diffi cult to conquer in the middle Ages and protected Bornholm until the late 17th century. It was not until 1822 that the ruins were put on the national

historic register. Today, each summer, open-air church services are held at ruins of Hammershus chapel and Salomon’s chapel. Next to the ruins there is an exhibition that sheds more light on full history of the fortress.

Bornholm is home to 15 medieval churches, of which four (out of only seven remaining in Denmark) are round and display unique artwork and architecture. Ny church, or All Saints’ church, in the village of Nyker, is the smallest of the four and, like the others, is surrounded by a stone wall and a churchyard, with a detached bell tower built using fi eldstones and half-timbering. Other buildings of notable architecural merit from the 19th and early 20th centuries include 300 wooden houses in Rønne and Nexø.

The island has 158 kilometres of coastline ranging from the steep, rugged rock formations found at Jons

Cruise EuropeAnnual General Meeting, Bornholm

30-31-CE-Intro.indd 30 16/7/07 18:16:17


Cruise Europe AGM Bornholm

Kapel on the west coast and Rø on the north coast, to Europe’s fi nest sand found on the high dunes at Dueodde on the southern tip of Bornholm.

Popular amongst summer visitors are the bus tours with visits to the workshops of 25 artists working in ceramics, glass, textiles, silver, metal, wood and leather. There are also tours that stop at the unusual gardens of the island and those that use a Vereran bus from the era of the Bornholm railways which offers visitors a nostalgic trip to Denmark’s last functioning Dutch mill, a railway museum, as well as a number of private collections with items from two generations ago.

Bornholm became known for its clock-making soon after fi ve English grandfather clocks were salvaged from a Dutch shipwreck off Rønne coast in 1744. In the process of repairing the clocks local turners realised that they

were skilful enough to make their own. From that moment the proud tradition of clock making began and continues to this day. The oldest local grandfather clocks, known as “Bornholmerure”, are around 250 years old with examples at the Bornholm Museum which has a varied display together with a clockmaker’s workshop.

Bornholm has the lowest annual rainfall and the greatest annual amount of sunshine in Denmark and is a clean, safe, and gentle environment - a reminder of what country life used to be like. The cruise ship berth is a total length of 240 metres and the basin is dredged to a depth of nine meters. There is a small passenger terminal at the berth as well as a Stop n’ Shop for those last minute souvenirs and a craft boutique. A free shuttle service operates every 20 minutes to the centre of Rønne. �

30-31-CE-Intro.indd 31 16/7/07 18:16:20


Who said What? Cruise Europe AGM Bornholm

Philip NaylorGeneral manager, Fleet Operations, Carnival UK

“I would like to deal with the aspects of future legislation by looking

at three key areas, the fi rst one is port services, the second is quite a hot topic, the issue of emissions, and the third is Operations.

“You will probably be much more familiar than I am about the evolution of the Port Services Directive within the European Union. I would like to set out what the shipping industry believes are important issues. The fi rst is that port policies should encourage investment in capacity. What we are seeing, particularly in southern Europe and to some extent in northern Europe, is a sort of semi-privatisation where port facilities are being let to concession holders on long term arrangements. This can actually reduce the capacity to all comers by providing the berths only to those involved in concessions. In places were this is happening it can be quite diffi cult to manage the delivery of a cruise ship’s schedule.

“MARPOL Annex VI introduced restrictions on emissions, in particular by reducing the maximum sulphur content of fuel burnt by ships in designated Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs). The corresponding EC regulations seek progressive reductions in the sulphur content of fuel burnt by ships in Community ports. These are aimed towards the amelioration of a regional issue – namely acidifi cation and defoliation. Reducing acid rain in the Baltic region makes good sense, particularly bearing in mind the high levels of acidifi cation that result from burning fossil fuel to generate electricity in some of the Baltic countries. Nevertheless the problem is not global in character and cannot justify the demands that are being made for ships to burn distillate fuel worldwide. The principal global emissions issue is CO2 production. CO2 is an effi cient greenhouse gas and few would now dispute that greenhouse gases contribute to global warming and climate change. It is a matter of basic chemistry that CO2 is produced when hydrocarbon fuels are burnt in air and there is very little difference

in the quantity of CO2 produced from burning a Tonne of distillate fuel or a Tonne of intermediate fuel oil. The call by INTERTANKO for global consumption of distillate fuel is therefore impossible to reconcile with the underlying global environmental ‘mischief’ – which is CO2. To some extent the spotlight has recently shifted away from the global issue of greenhouse gas emissions and regional issues of acidifi cation, towards the very local issues of NOx. So far as shipping is concerned these are principally produced by Diesel engines and affect air quality close to the funnel uptakes. A number of detailed and comprehensive emission studies have demonstrated quite conclusively that NOx emissions from ships in port do not make any signifi cant contribution to the deterioration of air quality in the locality and that much more positive results would be achieved through improved road traffi c management and through preventing road vehicles from keeping their engines running whilst waiting in port areas. Because the debate has not been particularly well informed the interrelated complexity of these issues has not been fully grasped. As a result the plural concerns operate only locally or at the regional level and are beginning to produce a patchwork of local or National regulations. Some of these have been managed in a participative and constructive manner – for example the cruise industry reached a voluntary agreement with the Venice Port Authority to ‘cap’ the sulphur content of fuel burnt by ships when alongside or navigating in the Lagoon. At the other extreme we have recently witnessed the sudden and unilateral imposition of a tax on NOx emissions by Norway.

“In response to ‘Erika’ the EC produced three legislative packages to increase port state surveillance and to seek improvements in EU shipping standards. In many ways this is a good idea, particularly when you look around some ports and see the condition of some of the ships that ply for trade. One very unfortunate outcome of this legislative response

is that the new regulations set out to criminalise the activities of ships, their crews, operators and owners. In doing this it feels as if the EC is seeking to extend its competence into an area of international law that should already be covered by the framework of existing IMO conventions and also by UNCLOS (The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea). More worryingly, by attaching criminal liability to acts of negligence the EC appears to be introducing laws that fail to satisfy the test for legal certainty that traditionally characterise penal sanctions and the risk of detention. This has very grave implications for the civil and Human rights of the individual seafarer or manager. As a few recent, very high profi le cases have demonstrated, these hapless or unfortunate individuals may inadvertently fi nd themselves in the position where they are the only person to whom over zealous authorities can pillory and attach blame. Over the last few years we have witnessed over zealous responses to Corporate Governance that have had the unintended consequence of changing the capital market structures. Regulators should take care to ensure that over zealous legislation does not have the unintended effect of discouraging European youth from pursuing a worthwhile and economically benefi cial career at sea. It is time for other points of view to be heard and acknowledged”. �

New regulations set

out to criminalise the

activities of ships, their

crews, operators and

owners.

32-CE-Naylor.indd 32 16/7/07 18:17:16



Helge R. OlesenSenior Advisor, Department of Atmospheric Environment, National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University

I have been involved with a few projects to assess the impact of

cruise ships on air quality in the port of Copenhagen. Today I’m going to cover two main points. First some background information on air pollution from ships in an EU perspective. Secondly I’m going to discuss the local impact of cruise ships on the harbour in Copenhagen where we made some calculations.

One of the main pollutants from ships is Nitrogen Oxides – NO and NO2. The sum of these is often referred to as NOx. Another pollutant is particles, referred to as PM’s, typically PM2.5 or PM10, with PM2.5 being fi ne particles less than 2.5 micrometers. At the moment there are regulations from the EU concerning PM10, but regulations on PM2.5 are going to be added. There are some air quality directives in Europe and port directives indicating limits to specifi c pollutants. The Member States have to report to the European Commission whether they comply with these limit values. When they do so they use a system of zones and with every zone you have to determine whether you have complied with a limit value. How diffi cult is it to comply with these limit values? Only in Finland and Ireland do all the zones comply in the case of PM10, according to numbers from 2004.

Concerning particles, only some of the particles in the air are ‘born’ as particles. Some pollutants come out of stacks as gases, but are transported, maybe some 100km, and then converted to particles. This is very important as it means that typically only a minor part of particulate pollution is of local origin, whereas the majority comes from distant sources, and has been converted to particles during transportation. Sources that emit gases such as sulphur dioxide

(SO2) and NOx contribute in this way to pollution with particles. These particles, formed in the atmosphere, are often referred to as secondary particles.

A breakdown of pollution in air, in Copenhagen, illustrates the origin of the different parts of the pollution, with a PM2.5 level of around 25 ⎧g/m3 (as yearly average). Car exhaust contributes very little, just three or four ⎧g/m3 in streets. Approximately 15 ⎧g/m3 of the 25 are secondary particles. If you move outside Copenhagen to the countryside you will not experience any great change in the level of PM2.5 because mainly, its origin is not local.

There is a clear indication that out at sea there is a lot of emission of SO2. There is a strategy in the EU which is attempting to reduce pollution and there are new directives which, if implemented and achieved, will result in reduced emissions inland. The emissions from ships make a signifi cant contribution to air pollution from SO2. Ships also contribute substantially to particle pollution through their emission of NOx and SO2, which is transformed to fi ne particles.

Let me now look at the local impact of air pollution from cruise ships in harbours using Copenhagen as an example. A couple of years ago there was some concern about ships in Danish harbours. A preliminary modelling study by the Environmental Assessment Institute indicated that cruise ships in the Port of Copenhagen were a problem in terms of local air pollution with NO2. At National Environmental Research Institute we were asked to undertake a more detailed study, based on modelling. We used a refi ned approach with more realistic treatment of chemistry and with more realistic emissions

information such as how long the ships were in the harbour, where they were placed, and their emission characteristics.

According to EU air quality regulations, the hourly concentration of NO2 is allowed to exceed a limit of 200 ⎧g/m3 no more than 18 times a year. The detailed studies showed that the presence of cruise ships would not cause any exceedance of this limit.

Recently we made another study because the harbour had plans to move the terminals and use the land for residential areas. This study was somewhat less detailed, with emphasis on worst-case scenarios. It showed that limit values would be complied with close to the ground. However, if tall buildings are located close to the quay there are potential problems at heights of 50-100 m. Buildings have to be located at a distance of a few hundred meters from the ships to avoid the problems that concern the limit value for hourly NO2 concentrations. �

The hourly

concentration of NO2

is allowed to exceed a

limit of 200 ⎧g/m3 no

more than 18 times

a year. The detailed

studies showed that

the presence of cruise

ships would not cause

any exceedance of

this limit

33-CE-Olesen.indd 33 16/7/07 18:21:12


Who said what? Cruise Europe AGM Bornholm

Martin Fernández Diez-PicazoMaritime Policy Task Force, European Commission

“At the European Commission we are looking at shipping,

transport, energy trade, environment, fi sheries, regional policies, research, employment, external relations, safety and security - those are sectors of policies that are implemented independently in Europe. Now the European Commission has an ambitious idea with one objective – an all embracing, integrated maritime policy with two pillars from the Gothenburg Agenda, growth in economy and employment, and sustainable development in environment and social conditions. And with three main links between these two pillars, excellence in marine scientifi c research, technology and innovation.

“The strategic objectives of the European Commission for the period 2005-2009 established the basis for a new maritime policy. This is not a completely new idea, this is not an idea that President Barosso has just thought up for Europe – this has already been done in Australia, United States, Canada and some countries in Europe. Some Member States in Europe have developed similar ideas and if they are doing that, and its working for them, then why is it not going to work for Europe?

“In 2005, a steering group of ten commissioners dealing with maritime affairs was created in order to prepare this new policy and a year later the Commission published the Green Paper on Maritime Policy, with the intention of raising a debate to set out what are the necessities, and what are the issues that could be proposed for the new maritime policy. In light of the Lisbon Agenda we have to improve and enhance our maritime economy – to create synergies between the different sectors of policies, environment is not an obstacle for

transport, and the production of energy is not a problem for fi sheries. Finally we have to improve our governance at all levels: local, national, European and international. As an example, there are six different agencies that deal with maritime issues in the EU and European Institutions. It is the same in any country, any member State. Even at the United Nations there are 12 agencies dealing with Maritime Affairs. This is not a new, new policy; this is an integrated policy of already existing sectors of policies.

“The Green Paper contains 56 questions in its 55 pages raising a wide variety of maritime issues. Among them, the tourism sector and the cruise industry are tackled by explicit questions referring to the specifi c measures that should be taken at EU level to promote the sustainable tourism development of coastal regions and islands, how innovations in service and products related to coastal tourism can be effectively supported, and general questions more broadly relating to the environment, the performance of ships at sea and the ports who receive these ships, and climate change: how does climate change affect ports and tourism?

“But the fi rst question in the Green Paper is the clearest one – should the EU have an integrated maritime policy? If the answer is yes; you can follow what is written in the green paper. If the answer is no, then you can say that we don’t need Europe intervening in what we already have, we don’t need an integrated maritime policy, we don’t see how these things need to be interlinked between them. However, in most cases, among the contributions received from the European Parliament, from the Committee of the Regions and the Social and Economic Committee,

from all the Member States and from the vast majority of stakeholders, an integrated approach to the maritime policy is strongly requested.

“We are all invited to participate in the consultation process launched by the Green Paper, by informing the Commission of our proposals and points of view on the ideas for the implementation of an integrated maritime policy”.

[The consultation period ended on the 30th of June and the results will be published in October 2007]. �

Now the European

Commission has an

ambitious idea with

one objective – an all

embracing, integrated

maritime policy

34-CE-Diez.indd 34 16/7/07 18:18:44


Who said what? Cruise Europe AGM Bornholm

Peter PateChairman UK & Ireland, MSC Cruises Limited

“The burning issue related to port operations is cost – we fully

understand that costs rise and keep pace with the economies in which you operate, however the services provided seldom improve or increase in line with the cost increases. We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to evaluate a practical way of improving services and facilities.

“Another problem is with visas as we need to fi nd a solution to avoid the requirement for non Schengen passengers to obtain two visas to embark. This is an industry diffi culty and needs an industry solution. We are now members of CLIA and they are considering a joint proposal that will result in non Schengen countries introducing a waver for the second visa where a ship is going to stay for 24 hours or a maximum of 48 hours.

“MSC Musica has been in service for a year now and she has actually demonstrated that she is the ideal size for the traditional ports that we use. However we do face some interesting challenges with the fi rst mega class ship, MSC Fantasia. Ports need to construct and enlarge existing facilities to handle these ships, where the number of passengers is jumping from around 2,000 to 3,500 to 4,000. We have approached several ports and asked them to enlarge their basins but none have even started on this important work.

“Next year there will be a swarm of mega ships in traditional ports in Europe. Ships with more than 2,500 passengers and 1500 crew, and all these ships will have short turnarounds. However in the vast majority of cases, port facilities and infrastructures will remain the same as they are today. The same transport, the same access facilities and the same space.

“In the United States ports grow

with the cruise industry. New access plans are developed and passenger dynamic is constantly under review. China is a brand new player in this business and has initiated a national programme to develop the most sophisticated cruise terminal and port infrastructure in the world. What we still need is a strategic pan-European or pan-Mediterranean development plan. This is apparent when you can see clear physical differences at various ports and see the inadequacies when you go from one port to another on the same cruise.

“Ground transport is another issue, but it needs some visionary thinking to keep pace with the cruise industry. We call at some ports where excursion buses are controlled by the local police because there is no space for the local buses to pull in. Last winter, on some cruises embarking passengers had to wait on their buses for more than an hour because there was no room for the buses in the port. Some ports are exceptional, but others have the same spaces and the same facilities they had ten years ago. What we would like to see is better services, a better and a more proactive understanding between the cruise operators and the ports.

“We would also like to see ports managing their schedules in a pure business like way. For example, in Naples, for the last fi fteen years MSC and Costa have had a permanent booking at the port on Monday, every Monday. This booking blocks the port, but what happens, for some reason the port will still book a third ship for Monday and this is to the detriment of everybody. The value of the tight, professional and productive operation cannot be understated and the destination may be wonderful, but what happens in the port can enhance or discolour the visit in the eyes of the passengers or the cruise operators”. �

What we still need is

a strategic

pan-European or

pan-Mediterranean

development plan

35-CE-Pate.indd 35 16/7/07 18:19:08



Nigel LingardMarketing Director, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

The impact of an aging and declining population

“There were in fact two baby booms - the post Second World

War boom and then the 1960s baby boom. The fi rst boom is actually this year and we’ve done a turning 60 promotion which has been very successful.

“The second crowd, those born in the 1960’s are currently in their late 40s, many will be coming through as a secondary effect in due course. So what we are seeing in the UK is the over 50s market growing at a tremendous rate as this boom effect comes through. The UK will peak in about 2031 when there will be 27 million people – over 40% of the population – over 50 of which 15% will be over 85. And the rate people are currently having children in the Western world means that its population, without immigration, is actually declining.

“In the United States they have over 80 million over 50 today, but within fi ve years this boom surge will have the same effect there and there will be 20 million more over 50’s fi ve years from now. But it is the immigrant population that will change the demographics of America and this is why America could well become a much younger population faster than the rest of the world as the Hispanic population are having children and they are mostly quite young. As a consequence, in 30 years from now, America could actually become a Spanish speaking nation because the traditional white population is not having children and is slowly being outnumbered and disappearing.

“In the UK there is retirement migration with people moving, and more people are living alone because they are living longer and losing their partners. There are more health issues

and we’re now seeing some people paying more for their insurance than they paid for their holiday with most insurance companies unwilling to insure people over 75.

“By defi nition the European cruises are drawing an even older group who are demanding, well travelled, and they have seen the world. The average age on board is now 67 and I think it will rise more likely to peak at 70. This means that we have to limit the number of handicapped people we carry because of the issues of on board caring staff and educating them, and getting these older passengers to muster stations, etc., although as ships get bigger we are going to be able to carry more handicapped people and the medical services to suit them. Tendering will not be an issue because I can see a time, in not many years, when we will not go to ports that require tendering, for reasons of passenger mobility. There’s much more likely to be demand for concierge services to buy specially tailored tours and individual trips around the ports of call.

“It is though between 2020 and 2030 that the real crisis will begin when only 25-30% of the population will be working. How much tax will they have to pay in order to keep the other 70% of us alive? So statistically, the baby boom people will live to 2031. After that the average age of the western world population will decline very fast and somebody will have to re-engineer and reinvent not only the cruise industry, but also the leisure industry because the western world’s population will completely change. So, in a sense, we work in an industry that has a fi nite life span in its current business model and in due time we have to address those issues.

“So there are lots of issues for us to address. I think together we can make a success of all of that”. �

in a sense, we work

in an industry that has

a finite life span in

its current business

model and in due time

we have to address

those issues.

36-Lingard.indd 36 16/7/07 18:19:36



Darius MehtaDirector of Land programs, Regent

“All guests are not the same, even in the luxury category.

They change for the cruise and the destination. And then ports are important as they want to collect them. On the shorter seven day cruises in the Baltic there is a younger more active crowd. They are well informed and well educated guests and they know everything about a port before they arrive, at least they think they do. They’ve done their research and it’s a challenge to satisfy and meet their expectations.

“What we did at Regent was to go and listen to our customers. And what they told us was that we have suites and balconies, we have fi ne wines and dining, that’s great but we also want a personalised and more unique experience and we want to see the port in a different way, in a more intimate way.

“What we decided to do to begin with was look at how partnerships play a role in creating these port experiences for our guests. For example we have become the fi rst in the cruise industry to offer iPod walking tours – it’s huge revenue for us as many of our guests just walk off the ship anyway. Now we can down load on their iPod, or loan them an iPod, a very good walking tour in a city. Overnight America has gone green and so they are very keen to have eco-tours and so we’ve been looking at things that are unusual like sustainable farming and nature preservation, which is very big for us. And in Scotland, the more active play exclusive golf courses.

“Unique in the cruise industry is our concierge programme. You can call the concierge, and the fi rst thing he says is that it will cost $100, and this has not been an issue from day one. Only recently have we allowed guests to book our restaurants online. And

guests have been calling our concierge and willing to pay a $100 fee to book a reservation at our signature Latitude – obviously we didn’t take the $100. Basically we get a call and we suggest some interesting and unusual things for them to do in port, or they can suggest things to us. This is huge new revenue for us.

“People do like to have a city centre or capital city vacation pre- or post-cruise. Prague, Budapest, Madrid, Seville and a whole host of cities are offered and we’re calling it Intimate Budapest or Intimate Prague and so on. It’s an intimate experience and not a whole group.

“Circle of Interest is another intimate and unique experience we offer. This allows small groups of people to follow a particular interest when they’re onboard and stepping ashore. They have the opportunity to discover a destination through a their particular interest, with the insights of an expert host, who doesn’t have to be well known, simply an expert in their fi eld, and the camaraderie of a small number of people who share their interests. It’s had the most enormous amount of free publicity as it brings people together who might not otherwise have thought they had anything in common. The interest could be anything from fi tness to fashion”. �

we have become

the first in the cruise

industry to offer iPod

walking tours.

37-CE-Regent.indd 37 16/7/07 18:20:38


MedCruise General Assembly Sochi

MedCruise, The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports, held

its 30th General Assembly on 17 and 18 May in Sochi, the Russian resort on the Black Sea which has just been chosen to host the Winter Olympics in 2014. The city was always a strong contender as its bid had the unqualifi ed support of central, regional and local governments and this was seen by the Olympic Committee as one of its main strengths. The other being the city’s natural setting of Black Sea coastline with Krasnaya Polyana, the designated site for the Winter Olympics, located in the Caucasus Mountains 600 metres above sea level, 75 kilometres from Sochi centre.

The General Assembly brought together around 50 delegates from 27

of MedCruise’s port members as well as invited cruise line executives and representatives of the international press. The directors of MedCruise met in Moscow on their way to Sochi for their 53rd meeting. They were joined on a city tour by those port members who were also travelling via Moscow to reach Sochi.

David Stoupelman, Director General of the host port, was joined by the Mayor of Sochi, Viktor Kolodyazhny as well as Grigory Minaev, Head of the Transport and Communications Department of the Krasnodar region Administration, to welcome the delegates to the General Assembly.

Laurent Monsaingeon, president of MedCruise, responded to the introductory addresses by the Russian

delegation by summarising the work of MedCruise, the requirements of a port in today’s cruise industry, and by raising some of the issues that have become priorities today. These are the edited highlights:

“Being a cruise port is very demanding. It requires infrastructures, terminals, sometimes it requires airports. We need a tourist destination with attractive venues but also with buses and guides. And of course we need a well trained staff for passenger handling as well as marketing and security. MedCruise is the association that allows all its members to meet this demand, to improve their quality, to exchange and to update their practices.

“The issue from the ports point of view is making growth possible.

MedCruiseGeneral Assembly, Sochi

Laurent Monsaingeon, president, MedCruise; David Stoupelman, director general, Port of Sochi; Grogory Minaev, Head of the Transport and Communications Department of the Krasnodar region Administration; Valeria Mangiarotti, vice-president, MedCruise; and Albert Poggio, senior vice-president, MedCruise(Left to right)

38-39-MedCruise-Intro.indd 38 16/7/07 18:21:43 38-39-MedCruise-Intro.indd 39 16/7/07 18:21:46


MedCruise General Assembly Sochi

How do we make growth possible and sustainable? It is not growth at a cost, what we need to preserve mostly is quality and credibility - how credible we are for the cruise lines - that means making choices. We need to preserve our destinations; we need to preserve all the different ports and we need to preserve the individuality of each. We also need to compromise as we must have growth in the number of passengers.

“We also need to preserve our destinations so that the local land based tourists also have their share of the quality of the destination. Very soon you will feel the need to control logistics, whether it’s the number of ships, the number of passengers, land traffi c issues, to make all that the

growth possible”.In a question relating to congestion

Monsaingeon made the point that MedCruise had analysed a couple of years of Mediterranean itineraries and come to the conclusion all the cruise lines choose a clockwise route, visiting pretty much the same ports, often on the same days. His idea is for the next MedCruise General Assembly, to be held in Almeria next October, to include a conference to “desynchronize” these itineraries in partnership with the cruise lines. He concluded that as the cruise lines would not do this on their own the ports would have to take the initiative. He put this idea to the cruise lines present who responded that they were not adverse to this suggestion.

A Black Sea Roundtable seminar brought together 23 interested parties representing ports, ship owners and local businesses in Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Bulgaria. The main focus of the discussion dealt with re-establishing a cruise programme in the Black Sea for regional populations, especially Russians, while recognising that the development of cruise tourism had to address three separate markets: international, regional and local.

The General Assembly included presentations by Bruce Krumrine of Princess Cruises, Simon Douwes of Holland America Line and Peter Cox of Seabourn Cruise Line. Edited highlights of their presentations are included in the ‘Who said What’ section that follows. �

Photos of Stalin’s Dacha

38-39-MedCruise-Intro.indd 39 16/7/07 18:21:46


Who said What? MedCruise General Assembly Sochi

Bruce KrumrineVice President, Shore Operations, Princess Cruises

“Shore operations is the area that I manage and my area

covers three key functions. The fi rst is port operations – this includes all the relationships with the ports and communities, it includes engaging all of the port services, port agents, making berth reservations, it is also a major cost part of our business. I am also in charge of shore excursions – the key is that all passengers have an excellent time in your port, whether they take a tour or go on their own. Not only is this a key services area for us offering tours, but it is a key revenue area for our companies. And the last area is passenger logistics. This deals with passenger check in, embarkation, disembarkation, transfers to and from the airports, again a key services area and also a key cost area. The message I would like to leave with you today is the importance of the close working relationship shoreside between the ports, the tourism authorities and the service providers. The good ports, many are here, already do this to make sure we provide a seamless passenger experience.

“Princess has a fl eet of 17 ships, including the new Emerald Princess and we carry over 1.2 million passengers per year. About 95% of our passengers are from North America. The interesting thing is that Princess is the most recommended brand by travel agents to passengers looking for a cruise in Europe. Princess is mentioned before any other cruise line.

“We have fi ve ships in Europe this year - this is the largest deployment in our history and it underscores the improving potential of the area. We offer twenty different itineraries comprising 100 different ports. We have four ships in the Mediterranean, and again this is our largest deployment.

“Next I was asked to talk a little bit

about itinerary planning and what are the critical factors. First and foremost is market dependency. We simply take our passengers to where they tell us they want to visit, on every cruise we ask our passengers to rate how important each cruise was in their purchase decision. We also ask them if they enjoyed the port and where they want to cruise next. The key is to provide satisfying experiences for passengers on shore excursions and for those trying on their own. The key message is that it is critical that ports, and the services in those ports, remain affordable.

“My last topic is port congestion and as you know it is a growing concern in the Med and there are a couple of different dimensions to this, one is simply supply versus demand over berths in our key ports. The other relates to congestion at the major visitor venues resulting in an unsatisfactory passenger experience. I do see some opportunities from port congestion for the emerging ports, many are here – to increase cruise calls. There needs to be a closer collaboration between ports and cruise lines to create more effi cient approaches to passenger handling and fl ow. I recognise the requirement for continued innovations to create new tour products, as well as to create novel approaches for passengers to experience the current programmes. And we are interested in discussing the opportunities to better co-ordinate itinerary planning. We see opportunities for Med Cruise and other associations to play a partnership role in these efforts. And we see opportunities for ports to establish more consistent policies and procedures for berth reservations and this could include the establishment of a berth reservations system on a consolidated website”. �

The key message is

that it is critical that

ports, and the services

in those ports, remain

affordable.

40-MedCruise-Krumrine.indd 40 16/7/07 18:22:22 41-MedCruise-Dowes.indd 41 16/7/07 18:23:01



Simon DouwesDirector, Deployment & Itinerary Planning,Holland America Line

“Holland America Line made its fi rst European cruise in 1895,

it was a cruise from Rotterdam to Copenhagen. We now have a fl eet of 13 ships ranging in capacity from 800 to 2000 passengers. All our ships end in “dam” like “Amsterdam” and “Rotterdam”. Amsterdam is named after a dam built on the River Amstel and there are many more cities named like that in The Netherlands. All our ships carry the Dutch fl ag and they are all named after “Dam” places. We have a new class of ship coming out in 2008 – the Signature class – the fi rst ship in this class will be called the Eurodam which is one of the few times that we have given a ship a name which is not based on an actual place name in The Netherlands.

“We go pretty much everywhere in the world and we will visit 314 different ports in 2007 and of those 46 are on the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. There will be four ships each season in Europe during 2007, 2008 and 2009. All our itineraries are between 10 and 14 days, but can be regarded as multiples of those lengths, because most subsequent cruises are not the same. That’s how we have set up our deployment, so you can stay onboard for many weeks and take different cruises. Our European deployment is from April to November after which these ships go to places which are warm in our winter. The majority of our passengers are from North America. We have just opened a brand new and large sales offi ce in the city of Rotterdam with the focus on the Dutch, British and other European markets.

“Our main operation in the summer is in Alaska where we have eight large ships sailing all summer but we will see continuous growth in the European market. We will have another jump in capacity in Europe when the Signature

class ships are on line and by that time our European capacity will be approaching the capacity in Alaska. It is diffi cult to expand any further in Alaska, port capacity is limited, but in Europe there are hundreds of ports we can call at.

“What are we looking for from ports? First of all it has to be ISPS certifi ed and port facilities need to be adequate. Information needs to be readily accessible for us when we plan a cruise, much of this can be found in the MedCruise yearbook. Port costs need to be reasonable – if they are excessive we might consider not calling at that port because we have many choices in Europe. When we come into a port we need to know what the regulations are, what paperwork is required and the entire process needs to be transparent. On some rare occasions we have been in ports where we have been surprised by certain unexpected regulations.

“We like clean, safe and secure ports and when it comes to clean, I think this city of Sochi is outstanding; it is one of the cleanest and neatest places I have seen. The port should be within walking distance of the town centre or a free shuttle should be provided if possible. And there needs to be suffi cient shore excursion possibilities at reasonable prices, the most important things is that our passengers get value for their money spend on the cruise and the shore excursions.

“The Black Sea does really well for us and we have a cruise calling at Sochi in a few weeks time. We also have Black Sea cruises which go to places like Odessa, Sevastopol and several ports in Turkey. The Amsterdam and the Rotterdam will be in the Black Sea in 2008 as well. Both those ships are our fl ag ships. On a last note our cruises to the Black Sea tend to be very successful and go very, very well”. �

When we come into a

port we need to know

what the regulations

are, what paperwork

is required and the

entire process needs

to be transparent.

41-MedCruise-Dowes.indd 41 16/7/07 18:23:01



Peter CoxDirector, Itinerary & Land Development,Seabourn Cruise Line

“Every spring, summer and fall during the past 20 years

Seabourn has operated in the Mediterranean. In 2009, with the introduction of our fi rst new ship in June, we will have three ships operating in the Mediterranean from April through October calling at 99 Mediterranean and Black Sea ports on 10 different one-week itineraries.

“Now is a good time for the Black Sea ports to join together in an effort to promote the region as a valid mainstream cruise destination. Presently the market, certainly the United States, is largely unaware of what this region has to offer. And, if there is no demand, the ships won’t come. If the cruise lines promote the destination it is primarily to help fi ll their ships and to sell their shore excursions. It is the destination’s job to create awareness and to promote its attractions.

“So far, Seabourn has only operated Black Sea/Greek Isles combination cruises between Istanbul and Piraeus, calling Yalta, Sevastopol, Odessa and Nesebur. However, for the fi rst time in 2009 Seabourn will operate two dedicated Black Sea cruises from Istanbul that will call at Trabzon, Batumi, Sochi, Yalta, Sevastopol, Odessa and Varna.

“Basically we deploy our ships anywhere in the world where there is proven demand and where we can achieve the highest per diems. However before adding any new port we look at whether the port is safe, operationally sound and that it fi ts in the itinerary. In doing research on new potential destinations, we always look at places that are written up in the press. We also organise focus groups and listen to our well-travelled guests and engage the cream of the travel agents. All things being equal, a port’s ability to offer an intimate experience

in an attractive setting is a good candidate for Seabourn, with the low numbers of guests we carry, tendering is not a problem. We anchor at the majority of your ports.

“Small ports must defi ne what they want to be, as some alienate the smaller luxury vessels by simultaneously going after small ships alongside and maybe big ships at anchor. Believe me, if you are a small destination and especially one that generally caters to an upscale clientele, you risk driving away the luxury small ships, such as Seabourn. If the fi nicky guests on the luxury ships can’t fi nd a chair on the café terrace, the side-walks and the narrow streets are overcrowded; the exclusivity of the place is compromised. We see that often our guests either don’t go ashore or return to the ship.

“We used to carry a majority of old-moneyed Americans who knew exactly what they wanted to do in port. The new generation of affl uent baby-boomers carry much less historical baggage and tend to be moved more by trendy activities that are harder to defi ne and are more varied in nature –many are British, Germans and French. And so we offer excursions with low minimums, starting with 10, we have more variety and we offer a wide selection of private arrangements. On average we have about 50% of the guests go on some form of organised excursion.

“It seems highly unlikely that cruise lines themselves will regulate congestion. Though they too may suffer from congestion, big ports serving big city destinations are generally able to deal with many large cruise ships. But congestion can turn a previously popular port into a less desirable one. As a rule, it is the passenger that ultimately decides whether we come back to a port or whether we drop it from future itineraries”. �

It is the destination’s

job to create

awareness and

to promote its

attractions.

42-MedCruise-Cox.indd 42 16/7/07 18:23:48


MedCruise General Assembly, Sochi

The announcement by the Olympic committee that Sochi had been

successful in its bid for the Winter Olympics of 2014 will fi rmly place the city on the international map and develop name recognition for Sochi on a scale few other events could do. There could not be a better time for the city, and the Black Sea region as a whole, to further develop their tourism products for international consumption.

Sochi stretches along 145 kilometres of coastline and nestles between the warm seas of the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountain range with its pristine rivers and waterfalls, and this combination produces its tropical climate. The Western Caucasus, a natural UNESCO World Heritage site situated just 50 km to the north of Sochi, is considered to be the only large mountain area in Europe that has not experienced signifi cant human impact. The territory is rich in waterfalls and mountain peaks, rivers and mountain lakes with crystal clear water, enormous fi r trees and rare plants.

It is these natural qualities that have contributed to the city’s reputation as a health resort but Sochi has also become a city of peace and friendship. The symbol of this is the Tree of Friendship which was planted in 1934 when it was a small, wild, lemon tree. Since that time artists, poets, astronauts, government offi cials and representatives from over 45 countries have added their own graft to a large citrus tree laden with fruits of different varieties, sizes and vintage. Tags bearing names of

those who contributed to the grafting dangle alongside the fruits. Close by is the museum where souvenirs of friendship, sent to Sochi from all over the world, are displayed, country by country.

Those who are interested in modern history will fi nd a visit to Zelenaya Roscha (Green Grove), the site of Joseph Stalin’s former dacha, a fascinating insight into his habits and lifestyle as the interior has been preserved as it was in his time. Built in 1937 and expanded just before Stalin’s death in 1953, the dacha is set around a courtyard surrounded by palms, cypresses and pines. Wood is also the common characteristic of the interior as it has oak fl oors and a great deal of beech, chestnut and oak paneling. Stalin’s quarters were designed so that his movie theatre was right next to the billiards room, which still has its original table, so he could easily indulge in two of his favourite pastimes.

Gardening enthusiasts have the opportunity to visit the Botanical Gardens (Dendrarium) which boast a rich collection of nearly 2,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants from every corner of the world. The upper part of the park is populated with peacocks and ostriches and adorned with French cast iron vases and Italian sculptures.

Around 30 minutes west along the Black Sea coastline and high up into the hills of Dagomys are Russia’s only tea plantations. Here a visit to the Tea Chalet for a traditional tea tasting event has become a popular event and there is even a small museum of

Russian samovars - metal urns used to heat water for tea. The 13 mile journey to reach the tea plantations provides a panorama of greater Sochi, the Black Sea and Mount Armyanka.

Across the river Sochi the same result can be experienced by climbing to the top of the observation tower which was built in 1936 on top of Akhun Mountain. From here there are magnifi cent views of the city, the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains.

Sochi offers nature, history and culture as well as river rafting, mountain hiking, cave climbing, horseback riding and all manner of water sports along its lengthy coastline. And locally crafted stack dolls, fi ne lace and natural stones can be found in the souvenir shops.

Passengers arriving on a cruise ship will fi nd the main terminal building of The Commercial Sea Port of Sochi has been totally refurbishment to reveal the splendour of an architectural style known as Social Realism. The harbour has two berths, one with a passenger terminal, which can service cruise ships of 200 meters in length and where draft is 8.5 metres. The harbour is open 24 hours a day, has no restrictions and ship clearance takes around 20-30 minutes.

David Stoupelman, Director General, reveal ed plans for the future development of the cruise facilities at the port to enable capacity to substantially increase. A model of the proposed development shows the scale of the plans which will enable several of the very largest cruise ships to berth simultaneously. �

Winter Olympic success will put Sochi fi rmly on the map

Left: Model of proposed development. Middle: Terminal building Right: Refurbished interior of the terminal building

43-Sochi.indd 43 16/7/07 18:24:37


MedCruise General Assembly, Sochi

Yalta has attracted millions of people to its mild climate, natural

surroundings, warm sea, and relaxed artistic atmosphere. Yalta was historically a crossroads of different cultures – from the ancient Tauri, Huns, and Scythians, to the Greeks and Tartars, to the Russians and Ukrainians. The delightful climate and diverse history provide guests with opportunities of both sea-and-sun relaxation and extensive sightseeing. Visitors can choose to roam palaces of Emperors and noblemen from a previous age, taste delectable wines at world-renowned wineries, stroll through exotic botanical gardens, discover history at enlightening museums, or simply do nothing but relax on the waterfront setting or in one of the many parks.

Sevastopol is known as the cradle of Russian Christianity since it was the place where Prince Vladimir adopted Christianity and from where the religion was spread to Russian lands in 988 AD.

Kerch, on the eastern extremity of the Crimean peninsula along the steep shores of the ancient Cimmerian Bosporusis, is the oldest town of Ukraine. It is listed on the UNESCO Eternal Cities of the World list and its 26 centuries of history has left an enormous variety of cultures and traditions including ancient Greek ruins and a Turkish fortress.

Odessa is said to occupy the site of an ancient Miletian Greek colony that disappeared between the 3rd and the 4th centuries AD. The Ottoman Turks controlled the area during the 16th and 17th centuries and in 1764 they built a fortress known as Yenu-Duniya to protect the harbor. Odessa, with its population of 1.1 million, remains one of Ukraine’s most important cultural and resort areas drawing visitors to its attractive centre and sandy beaches. The city still retains its old-fashioned charm and opera lovers will enjoy a visit to the glittering Opera House, and none will want to miss the famous 193 Potemkin Steps, immortalized by Eisenstein’s fi lm The Battleship Potemkin.

Sochi is a coastal city set in subtropical vegetation surrounded one side by a warm sea and on the other by snow-capped mountains. Its surroundings offer nature, history, culture, sport, beaches, shopping and an enjoy able city centre. Those who are interested in modern history can visit Joseph Stalin’s Dacha – the summer home of the former Soviet leader. Gardening enthusiasts can choose to visit the Botanical Gardens (Dendrarium) that boast a rich collection of nearly 2,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants from around the world. On the top of Akhun Mountain (663 m above the sea level) an observation tower, built

in 1936, is an ideal spot from where to enjoy a magnifi cent panorama of the city, the Black Sea and the Caucasus. Alternatively a Russian Tea tasting tour can be arranged with a visit to the northern subtropical tea plantations followed by a traditional tea tasting.

Batumi, with its graceful white architecture, is situated on the south-west of Georgia on the Black Sea coast, and is considered to be one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The natural beauty of this region is matched by its fascinating history.

When Varna was liberated, after the Russian – Turkish war of 1877–1878, it grew rapidly. Today the town has become an important administrative, commercial, cultural and industrial city and is among the biggest resort centres in the country.

Nessebur is located on a small peninsula in the Black Sea which is linked with the land only by a long and narrow isthmus. Some of its churches are among the best preserved on the Balkan Peninsula. The oldest one is St. John the Baptist, 10th-11th centuries. Today the old part of the town is a maze of narrow cobblestone lanes, tiny squares, two-story period houses with stone-built ground levels and wooden upper fl oors jutting above the streets with external staircases, sprinkled with a selection of gift shops, pubs, taverns and lovely fl ower gardens. �

The theatre at Batumi and (right) Odessa’s opera house

44-Black-Sea.indd 44 16/7/07 18:25:05


Cruise3sixty conference Fort Lauderdale

Cruise3sixty, a Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

event, was held from 30 March to 1 April in Fort Lauderdale. This was a travel conference with educational and professional development programming, plus hands-on business and technology training opportunities for travel agents.

At a previous cruise3sixty a panel of non-cruising travelers voiced their candid impressions of cruise vacations, travel agents and why they had not taken a cruise vacation. CLIA subsequently arranged for two of these “non-cruisers” to take their fi rst cruise and cruise3sixty welcomed them back this time to share their experience.

Margarita Huerta, a director of human resources, praised both her travel agent Sylvia Berman and Carnival Cruise Lines for debunking her preconceived notions about the value of travel agents and fears of confi nement, boredom and nausea she associated with cruising. “I now see that having a travel agent is very important. Sylvia was so informative about everything - including all the destinations we visited. Her input was absolutely invaluable. I felt so pampered and the service was impeccable. I had so many options to choose from in terms of activities and dining.”

Attorney Jim Long and his wife, who were concerned about the impersonal nature of cruising, used Ken Smith, owner of Dreams Come True in Maplewood, New Jersey, as an agent for their Seabourn cruise. “All our questions were answered by

Ken - he did a really great job, the experience was absolutely fabulous with impeccable service and fi ve-star dining. The staff really took good care of us.”

A distinguished panel of experts addressed issues of health, safety and environment head-on to allay the concerns that some agents’ customers may have had. Moderated by Virginia Sheridan, president of M. Silver Associates, CLIA’s national public relations fi rm, the panel included J. Michael Crye, executive vice president of CLIA; Dave Forney, former chief of the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program; Captain Karl Schultz, commander of the Miami Sector of the U.S. Coast Guard; and Jamie Sweeting, senior director, travel and leisure, Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, Conservation International. The panel demystifi ed the perceptions surrounding norovirus.

Dave Forney commented that “Norovirus is widespread in the general population but the cruise industry has to report every case to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This kind of reporting doesn’t exist anywhere else on land.” It is estimated by the CDC that 23 million Americans contract norovirus every year, or one in every 12 people, whereas less than one in every 3,600 cruise passengers has actually been affected by norovirus. Forney also made the point that the sanitation conditions on ships are impeccable.

There was a new twist to the traditional industry panel with Agents View, moderated by Dr.

Marc Mancini, and featuring leading cruise executives who fi elded wide-ranging topics, from the future of home-based agents to the importance of the agent-supplier relationship as it relates to the future of cruising.

Cruise executives included Royal Caribbean International’s Lisa Bauer, Carnival Cruise Lines’ Vicki Freed, Celebrity Cruises’ Keith Lang, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Scott Rogers and Princess Cruises’ Jan Swartz. Agents included TAAB members Penney Rudicil, The Travel Planner, Gallatin, Texas; Brad Anderson, America’s Vacation Center, Escondido, Calif.; Scott Koepf, Jurni Network and Nexion, South Lake, Texas; and Joannie Ogg, president of the National Association of Commissioned Agents

Cruise panelists reiterated their enduring commitment to the travel agency community, and encouraged retailers to focus their selling efforts on the experience and value cruise vacations offer rather than simply focusing on price. The executives also detailed ways in which they are improving their relationships with agents through new and improved technology systems and other products designed to enhance productivity. Panelists inspired agents to work toward boosting their cruise sales and stressed that all agents - both home-based and brick-and-mortar - are viewed as equal business partners.

The popularity of Cruise3sixty 2007 has prompted CLIA to offer both east and west coast conferences in 2008. �

Cruise3sixty Conference highlights

45-CLIA.indd 45 16/7/07 18:25:29


News

World cruises for two of Fred. Olsen’s vessels for 2009

Boudicca will sail from Southampton, England, on 6 January 2009, on

a 97-day westbound voyage through the Caribbean, the South Pacifi c, Australia, where she will visit six ports, Tasmania, South Africa and up the west coast of Africa back to Southampton. The Black Watch will depart Dover, England on February 15, 2009, on a 104-day eastbound route through the Mediterranean, Middle East, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Petropavlosk, Russia, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, where she will visit three ports, Vancouver, three western U.S. ports, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Azores Islands before returning to Dover.

Dominica chosen as location for CBS reality show

‘Pirate Master’ is the next epic adventure reality series from

Emmy award-winner Mark Burnett, executive producer of the ‘Survivor’ television series from CBS. The show will send 16 modern-day pirates on a high seas adventure where they will live as buccaneers and scour Dominica for 33 days in search of hidden treasure that will total $1 million. Dominica was selected for its lush, pristine landscape with rugged mountain peaks, deep river gorges, towering waterfalls and accessible coastline according to Lisa Hennessy. She also praised the people of Dominica for their warm greeting and the support afforded to all their production staff.

Carnival Cruise Lines’ fi rst year-round Mexican Riviera cruises from

the Port of San Diego is set to boost passenger numbers signifi cantly. The programme features 78 four and fi ve

day cruises aboard the 2,052-passenger Elation with Cabo San Lucas the only call on the four day programme, while Ensenada is added on the fi ve day route. This new deployment is

in addition to the seasonal eight day cruises that have been operated by Carnival Spirit since 2004. Together these two Carnival ships will draw over 225,000 passengers to San Diego.

San Diego benefi ts from Carnival’s year-round cruising

Trapani, Sicily attracts cruise ships

Trapani is Located in the western part of Sicily, it is the gateway to

the sites of Erice, Segesta, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Selinunte, Mothia, Castellammare and the Natural reserve of the Zingaro, the Egadi islands, Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples. The port is well sheltered from winds and the climate is mild all year. The cruise berth is located in front of the city’s historic centre, which can be reached on foot by simply crossing the street. The berthing area is ISPS regulated and tour buses can park close to ship. There is an alternative anchorage point, one mile from the landing point, well sheltered from winds.

54 ports and destinations won awards as a result of the annual survey conducted by Dream World Cruise Destinations publication at the beginning of the year. Representatives of fi ve of the winners are shown here at Seatrade, Miami with their certifi cates, clockwise from bottom left: Dubai, UAE for Best Turnaround Port Operations and Best Turnaround Destination; Kalundborg, Denmark for Best Port Welcome; Bilbao, Spain for Most Improved Port Facilities; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala for Most Improved Destination, Organised Tours; and extreme right, Eidfjord for Most Improved Destination.

Phot

os: T

rans

-Oce

an P

hoto

s

46-48-News.indd Sec2:46 16/7/07 18:26:00


News

Silversea hints at new ship interior

French Riviera creates Cruise Club

The French Riviera Cruise Club has been set up to by The French

Riviera Tourist Board, Riviera Ports Authority, Chamber of Commerce of Cannes, Nice and Villefranche and the Tourism Boards of the cities of Cannes, Nice, Villefranche. These founding members will be joined by Associate Members drawn from port agents, pilots, the airport, tour operators, taxis, hotels and shops etc.

The objective of the Club is to build

confi dence and make improvements through the co-operation between ports & destinations and by taking united action so that, for example, there are common service standards relating to the welcome, staff, image, signs, documentation, security and so on. Also to develop products and services for excursions and new destinations as well as have a reception at the airport and provide city maps. The Club will study for new berths

for cruise lines and have agreement to avoid congestion and to publicise cruise calls two years in advance on the Riviera Ports website.

During the 2006 season more that 60% of the 625,000 cruise passengers who visited the Riviera Côte d’Azur came for the fi rst time and 90% stated their interest in returning in the future. Average spend per passenger was €107 in Cannes, €92 in Villefranche-sur-Mer and €66 in Nice.

David Morris, Silversea’s Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales

and Marketing visited London at the back end of May to talk over a wide variety of subjects as diverse as ship size, world cruises, the demanding nature of their clientele, 85% load factors, high yields, agent education programmes, price driven products, luxury resorts, international markets and the fly element of fly-cruising. Morris also talked about Silversea’s new larger ship which will have a 540 capacity. This will have more public spaces with more options including a smaller, more intimate and more personal theatre as on their existing ships the theatre is

only used 12% of the time whereas it accounts for 30% of the space. More rooms will be added around the theatre and it seems as if some of these may be lounge areas and night club venues where guests can talk and relax free from a disco environment. There will also be a bigger spa as their existing fleet could easily fill spa spaces twice the size, all of the time. And there will probably be two further restaurant options. Morris and his team are in confident mood as the ‘new’ Silversea team finds its feet and begin to implement new strategies for growth and plan for the arrival of their new bigger ship.

Museums, historical and archaeological sites, caves, over

25 waterfalls both large and small cascading through a canyon, and a beautiful fjord greet visitors to Sinop, the Turkish city on the Black Sea. The archaeological museum that reopened in 1970 contains fi nds from the Roman,

Byzantium, Seljuks and Ottoman periods. Textiles and model boats are examples of the local crafts available in town. Sinop has the only natural port in Turkey and its quay is 139 metres in length and it is located in the centre of the town where the draft is up to 13.5 metres.

Sinop targets cruise tourism

Palanga’s Amber Museum An extensive collection of amber

jewellery can be seen at the resort town of Palanga, just 25 kilomoteres from the por of Klaipeda. The Amber Museum of Palanga, a branch of the Lithuanian Art Museum was formerly the Tyszkiewicz palace. Opened in 1963, the museum is set in the grounds of a botanical garden with over two hundred different types of trees and shrubs. The collection is displayed in 15 rooms containing about 4,500 exhibits and is considered to be one of the most extensive collections anywhere.

46-48-News.indd Sec2:47 16/7/07 18:26:08


News

The Port of Cork Company has decided to undertake a further

upgrade of its Cobh Cruise Terminal in preparation for a number of calls in 2008 by Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas, which will be the largest vessel ever to cruise in Northern Europe. A 45 metre extension to the berth at the Cobh Cruise Terminal will

increase its length to 385 metres. This lengthening will make the berth the largest on the Irish mainland and the only facility capable of handling ships of the size of Independence of the Seas. The Port of Cork estimate the economic value of the port’s cruise business in 2007, in terms of direct and indirect expenditure, will be around €35million.

Curtis take new marketing role at Cunard

Cunard Line has appointed Richard Curtis as head of marketing. He

replaces Stuart Perl, who left the company to become managing director of Peter Deilmann Cruises. Curtis, who has already taken over the role, joins the company from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, where he was vice president for marketing.

The port of Cork invests to welcome Independence of the Seas

Costa in agreement with Air France

Costa Crociere and Air France have announced the signing of

a letter of intent. At a meeting held at the Air France head offi ce, the airline’s chairman and chief executive offi cer, Mr. Jean-Cyril Spinetta and his Costa Crociere counterpart, Mr. Pier Luigi Foschi, signed a protocol agreement setting down the details of a partnership aimed at boosting

commercial synergies between the two companies.

Under this agreement, the companies will coordinate their schedules and capacities in order to provide their customers with additional benefi ts and services and allowing each partner to develop their growth. As a result, the number of seats on Air France fl ights

reserved for Costa guests boarding one of the Italian company’s twelve ships, deployed at a number of ports worldwide, will rise substantially. The ultimate aim of the agreement is to allow customers of both companies to benefi t from each partner’s loyalty programmes as well as other joint online marketing campaigns.

Overhaul for Carnival’s open deck spaces

Expansive children’s water parks, a new design style and features for

the pool areas, and the creation of the Serenity adults only deck area will be part of a dramatic transformation of the open decks of Carnival Cruise Lines’ eight Fantasy-class ships.

The new features are part of Carnival’s $250 million ‘Evolutions of Fun’ programme, an ambitious ship refurbishment and product enhancement initiative, which focuses on the line’s eight Fantasy-class vessels. This initiative is also responding to the changing needs of health-conscious consumers with a complete overhaul of 12,000-square-foot spa facilities. The spa makeovers include new private treatment rooms, state-of-the art exercise equipment and a host of cosmetic enhancements. Many aspects of the initiative have already been completed on the Fantasy, Ecstasy and Fascination and partially executed on the Sensation, Elation and Paradise. By 2009, the entire Fantasy-class fl eet will have had their makeovers.

46-48-News.indd Sec2:48 16/7/07 18:26:12

The sister ship to Costa Concordia was christened in a lavish

ceremony at Marseille this past May in a move which confi rmed Costa Crociere’s dominant position in the French market. Costa Serena is similar to Costa Concordia but there are differences. Serena boasts 575 cabins with balconies out of a total of 1500 and of these 99 are given over to the Samara concept, a regular

feature on all Costa newbuilds. That’s a signifi cant hike of 50% on the number of cabins devoted to this wellness concept compared to Concordia. Costa Serena’s inaugural sailings leave Venice each Sunday, on a seven night cruise, calling at Bari, Katakolon, Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik until November when she begins 10- and 11-night cruises to the Canary Islands.

Marseille hosts christening of Costa Serena

Simon Douwes, Director, Deployment & Itinerary

Planning, Holland America Line; Bruce Krumrine, VP Shore Operations, Princess Cruises; and Peter Cox, Director Itinerary &

Land Development, Seabourn Cruise Line (left to right) caught on camera during a visit to the Tree of Friendship and its museum on a tour of Sochi, Russia which also included a visit to Stalin’s Dacha.

Caught on camera

Trieste comes into its own

The Italian city of Trieste has a mixture of cultures with Austrian

style buildings and Yugoslav infl uence. Visitors can see archaeological sights, sit in a typical Austrian café or visit the artisans in the Old Town to see their work in gold and other metals, or the pottery they have crafted. Croatia is not far away and Slovenia is just 12 kilometres from the centre of Trieste - in 15 minutes you can be in another country.

The biggest caves in Europe are within easy reach and there are tours of Mirimar Castle, now a museum. The region is famous for its white wine and since the vineyards are about 50kms away, this is another popular tour. Here you can either ride on horseback through the vineyards and visit the cellars and see the production process. For horse lovers there is the opportunity to visit the famous Lupica stud farm in Slovenia. Others may choose to visit three countries in a day by adding Slovenia and Croatia to their time in Italy. Alternatively you can spend the day on a beach.

From next year there will be a fast ferry connection to Venice which will leave the centre of Trieste and arrive at San Marco. It will carry 300 people and this could provide a real alternative to the ships that cannot berth in Venice.

Making a splash

Ashcroft & Associates Limited, the publisher of Making a Splash, would

like to express their sincere thanks and gratitude to the many organisations that have helped in the production of this digest by supplying articles, reports, facts and fi gures, information and pictures or provided help in other ways. We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information but changes occur incessantly.

Readers are advised to check that any material facts are still current with the responsible authorities.

Making a Splash is published four times a year, as a section of the Dream World Cruise Destinations magazine in the Spring and Autumn, and as a stand alone publication in the Summer and Winter.

What is your news? If you have a relevant news story for Making a Splash please email the editor: [email protected]

Making a Splash and Dream World Cruise Destinations are available annually for £35 including postage. The contents of these publications are protected by copyright. All rights reserved. ISSN 1351-640X.

For further information about future issues please contact Chris Ashcroft by phone on +44 (0) 20 8 99 44 123 or by email: [email protected].

Published by Ashcroft & Associates Limited, PO Box 57940, London W4 5RD, United Kingdom

IBC-News.indd 50 16/7/07 18:27:36

CLIA Hall of Fame

CLIA honoured fi ve inductees into its Hall of Fame, including Richard Fain,

chairman and Chief executive offi cer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (above); Kathy and Leo Falkensammer, owners of Prestige Travel; Knut Kloster, co-founder of Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Line, now known as NCL; and the late Deborah Natansohn, who was president of Seabourn Cruise Line.

Dickinson announces his retirement

Bob Dickinson, president and chief executive offi cer of Carnival

Cruise Lines, has informed Carnival Corporation & plc that he will retire at the end of the year. Although Dickinson will remain on the company’s board of directors, Gerry Cahill, executive vice president and chief fi nancial offi cer of Carnival Corporation & plc, will assume Dickinson’s responsibilities as president and chief executive offi cer effective immediately so that there is an ample transition period. David Bernstein, Carnival Corporation & plc’s vice president and treasurer, will become the company’s chief fi nancial offi cer, also effective immediately.

The port of Ajaccio, South Corsica, is on schedule to complete its

new cruise pier by the end of 2008. The pier, which will be 280 metres in length, 20 metres wide and with a minimum draft of 10 metres, will be dedicated to the cruise market. This €17.23 million investment is part of a long term strategy to increase cruise passenger arrivals from 196,000 to 500,000 by 2010. Over 42% of the cost, the largest share, is being borne by CCI Ajaccio South Corsica and the balance is shared between the European Union, the Corsican regional government, and the French State.

Adjacent to the new pier will be the redeveloped marina which will have space for 480 yachts. A number of other initiatives have been implemented to enable Ajaccio to confi dently offer turnarounds for

ships carrying up to 300 passengers. The fi rst is to develop greater airlift to the city’s international airport, in particular direct fl ights from major European hubs including the UK.

Secondly, to enhance the runway to allow the larger 777’s to land - currently the largest aircraft able to land are 747’s. And fi nally, the construction of two new hotels in the 4/5 star categories will be completed by the end of the year to help in that objective. Additional investment is planned for Portovecchio to enable ships up to 220 metres to berth alongside the quay. As this project will require the channel and the turning circle area to be dredged the scheme will require a feasibility study by environmental agencies before the works can begin. The CCI are hopeful that this new facility will be completed during 2009.

South Corsica invests for the cruise market

While Costa’s new Terminal D was being opened at the

port of Barcelona, the terminal operator Creuers del Port revealed the designs for its new Terminal A which is currently under construction. The design for

Terminal A has included a covered walkway to Terminal B which allows for complete fl exibility of the combined spaces of these two terminals. The new Terminal A will be ready for use for the 2008 season.

Waves design for Terminal A

OBC-News.indd 50 16/7/07 18:28:20

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