Tag Archives: Bodrum

Costa Venezia Set to Sail New Program from Istanbul

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Costa Venezia’s new cruises to Turkey and Greece will make their debut from Istanbul on May 1.

Costa said the new deployment marks the collaboration between itself, Turkish Airlines, the Turkish National Tourist Board and Galataport Istanbul.

The proposed formula is the “flight+cruise” package, available from all the main European countries, with scheduled Turkish Airlines flights, which will make it possible to reach Istanbul easily, and then embark on board Costa Venezia from the new Galataport cruise terminal, equipped with all the comforts and services for the next generation of ships.

“Our restart program ahead of summer is strengthened by a truly unique offer. The main new feature of Costa Venezia cruises is the possibility of visiting the best of Turkey in a single holiday, starting from Istanbul, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We believe Turkey has great potential for cruises, and we are trying to be the first to develop it. Istanbul can be reached from the main European countries in just a few hours’ flight time, it has good air connections and modern ports, as well as a mild climate that makes it possible to operate all year round, and above all, it offers an incredible variety of experiences and attractions,” said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises.

The Costa Venezia’s program in Turkey includes three different itineraries, all with embarkation and disembarkation in Istanbul, designed to include longer calls in the ports to enjoy the destinations with plenty of time, among cities rich in history, splendid archaeological and UNESCO World Heritage sites and clear seas.

From May 1 to November 13 2022, the Costa Venezia will offer two one-week itineraries dedicated to Turkey and Greece, interchanging with each other, which can be combined into a single 15-day “super tour”, with eight calls in port longer than 10 hours.

The first itinerary is ideal for those who want to explore the best of Turkey and Greece in one holiday. It includes a two-day, one-night call in Istanbul, the Turkish destinations of Izmir and Bodrum, the island of Mykonos and Athens in Greece.

The second itinerary allows exploring some of Greece’s out-of-the-ordinary locations and the best of Turkey. It includes two two-day, one-night calls in Istanbul and Kusadasi, Turkey, before heading off to explore Rhodes and Heraklion, Greece.

In winter 2022-23, the Costa Venezia will be offering a third 12-day itinerary to Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Cyprus, visiting Istanbul (with a two-day, one-night call), Bodrum, Limassol, Haifa (also with a two-day, one-night call), Alexandria and Kusadasi. From spring 2023, the two itineraries in Turkey and Greece will resume.

Cruise lines ‘to return to Turkey this year’

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A Busy Cruise port in Turkey

Cruise lines plan a return to Turkey this year following a period of uncertainty due to terrorism and political upheaval.

Ports operator Global Ports Holdings today signalled a possible recovery after reporting a 6.3% slump in overall cruise revenue to $50.3 million last year over 2016.

Earnings [Ebitda] from cruise fell by 12.7% to $32.2 million as the company reported an annual loss of $14.1 million from a profit of $4.4 million the previous year.

This came despite the company’s ports outside Turkey, including Barcelona, Malaga and Valletta, recording 2017 passenger growth of almost 26%

The company’s ports handled more than 2,801 cruise ship calls and 4.1 million passengers.

However, cruise calls to Ege port in Kusadasi in Turkey fell by 53% with passenger numbers down by 66% to 118,954 year-on-year. The company also runs the Turkish ports of Bodrum and Antalya.

“Current trading in our cruise segment in our non-Turkish based ports remains strong. The weakness in Turkish cruise ports is expected to continue into 2018, although passengers and revenue are expected to stabilise compared to the decline experienced in 2017,” GPH said.

“A number of cruise lines have begun to communicate their plans to visit our Turkish ports in 2018, which we see as a good sign of a possible recovery.”

The company added: “Transit passengers recorded a 20.3% increase in 2017, while the expansion of more profitable turnaround passengers was relatively lower at 8%, resulting in two percentage point decrease in the share of turnaround passengers.”

Chairman and co-founder Mehmet Kutman said: “In May 2017 we listed on the London Stock Exchange. Despite the geopolitical challenges in Turkey since then, we have been able to deliver stable revenues and underlying profits, achieve strong operating cash flow and attractive dividends.

“Operating profit was down year on year mainly reflecting the costs of the IPO. Delivering shareholder value remains a key priority for the group as we look to the year ahead.”

Chief executive Emre Sayın added: “Our 2017 financial performance reflects the importance of our diversified business, with robust contributions from our commercial operations and strong performance in our cruise ports outside Turkey, where the geopolitical situation continues to be challenging.

“We are making progress with our strategy set out at the IPO to expand our global footprint of cruise ports, also reducing the significance of Turkey on our overall business.

“M&A [merger and acquisitions] discussions both in and outside Europe are progressing well and we have strengthened our global team as we pursue the next phase of growth. We feel good about 2018 as it starts growing again.”