The Port of Bilbao has concluded the 2023 season with 80 cruise ships and 148,791 passengers, according to a statement.
The last cruise ship of the year was the Bolette, which docked on November 16.
Most of the tourists have been transit passengers coming from the UK (41%), North America (27%), or Germany (13%). Thirteen cruise ships made their first call at the port in 2023.
“We continue to position the Port of Bilbao and its terminal in Getxo on the route of the major cruise shipping companies, and this is making a significant contribution to the increase in tourism in the Basque Country and, by extension, to boosting our economy,” said Ricardo Barkala, president of the Port Authority of Bilbao. “As a result, we continue to support this activity and to promote the development of the economic fabric of Bizkaia and the Basque Country”.
“In a sector as competitive as the cruise sector, the shipping companies choose Bilbao because of the infrastructure and services it offers, the operability of the terminal, the flexibility and ease with which stopovers can be managed, and the convenience for their passengers,” Barkala added.
In 2019, 50 cruise ships arrived at the Port of Bilbao. In 2020, cruises were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fourteen calls were made in 2021, and 78 cruise ships arrived at the port in 2022.
The Port Authority has announced the BilbOPS project to deploy shore power technology in several of the port’s docks, including the cruise ship docks. The aim of the initiative is to improve service delivery, and, in turn, contribute to environmental sustainability. The facilities will become operational in the beginning of 2026.
Port Everglades is kicking off the 2023-24 cruise season by welcoming new cruise lines and ships, and establishing itself as a new homeport for Disney Cruise Line, according to a press release.
“We could very well top our 4 million passenger record, although our ‘official’ projected number is conservatively estimated at some 3.7 million embarking and disembarking guests,” said Port Everglades CEO and Port Director Jonathan Daniels.
“As a trend, we are seeing more luxury ships such as Viking and Ritz-Carlton, and shorter itineraries from Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Disney,” Daniels added.
So far this season, which started in October, Port Everglades has welcomed first calls from Viking’s expedition ships Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris, Viking Mars, as well as Phoenix Reisen’s Artania.
Beginning November 20, 2023, the Disney Dream will homeport year-round in a specially designed cruise terminal dedicated for Disney Cruise Line guests. The partnership with Disney includes a 15-year agreement with one ship to be homeported in Port Everglades year-round and joined by a second, seasonal ship, to be announced, in 2025.
Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Ascent debuts at Port Everglades with two 3- and 4-night preview sailings in November 2023 before being named at Port Everglades on December 1, 2023, and embarking on her inaugural Caribbean season with alternating 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Celebrity Ascent is the fourth ship in Celebrity’s Edge Series class, and one of seven Celebrity ships to sail from Port Everglades this season.
The Silver Nova will be named at Port Everglades on January 4, 2024. This will be the first ship to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as its main fuel at Port Everglades.
Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis-class Symphony of the Seas will shift to Port Everglades after returning from Europe in November 2023 and will sail alternating 6- and 8-night cruises to the Caribbean.
Azamara also joins the Port Everglades fleet for the first time with the arrival of the Azamara Onward on November 30, 2023. Azamara Onward will finish the 2024 season at Port Everglades with an inaugural 155-night World Voyage departing January 5, 2024, visiting over 40 countries with 22 overnight stays and 27 late nights in port.
Port Everglades said it also looking forward to having a busier than usual summer 2024 with five cruise ships including Celebrity Beyond (7-days), Celebrity Reflection (3- and 4-days), Disney Magic (3-, 4- and 5-days), Enchanted Princess (7-days), and Freedom of the Seas (7 days).
Princess Cruises will homeport the brand-new Sun Princess at Port Everglades beginning in October 2024. The Sun Princess, the first in the line’s new Sphere class, will be Princess Cruises’ first LNG-fueled ship and its largest, accommodating more than 4,000 guests.
The newly rebranded luxury line Crystal recently announced that it will move from Miami and begin homeporting from Port Everglades in November 2024, with the completely refurbished Crystal Serenity.
Port Everglades has completed a study to add shore power to the port’s eight cruise terminals, which will allow cruise ships to use electricity while idling in port instead of burning fuel. The study was performed by Moffatt & Nichol, a global infrastructure advisory firm working in cooperation with Florida Power & Light (FPL), Carnival Corporation, Disney Cruise Line and the Royal Caribbean Group. The recommended plan is capable of delivering up to 16 megawatts of electricity simultaneously to each of the eight terminals in accordance with IEC/IEEE 80005 standards.
The projected cost for the project, including the estimates for FPL supply and distribution system upgrades, is approximately $20 million per cruise terminal, for a total cost of $160 million. The project is expected to be financed through federal and state grant funds, contributions from FPL, the participating cruise lines, and Broward County. Implementation will occur in phases. The earliest construction could occur is mid-2024 with all phases completed by the end of 2027, the port said.
Carnival Corporation’s nine brands enjoyed full ships in the third quarter of 2023 as the company delivered a profit of over $1 billion and record revenue.
The ships on average were 109 percent full. Cruise ship occupancy is calculated by having two people in each stateroom, bringing a ship to 100 per cent. Any additional guests, such as children, will push a ship over the 100 per cent mark.
The company said that the 109 per cent occupancy number was better than its own expectations and marked a return to historical levels, compared to just 84 per cent in 2022 and 113 per cent in 2019, the last normal year prior to the pandemic.
“On the European front, occupancy came in better than anticipated for Costa and AIDA, with both brands hitting 119 per cent occupancy in August. Not to be outdone, P&O Cruises achieved its highest occupancy in over a decade,” said Josh Weinstein, president and CEO, on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
“And so I can’t say that their yields were higher. But I can tell you that their occupancy is back, and they are well on their way, and that’s absolutely as expected,” said Weinstein, commenting on the company’s P&O brand.
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