Tag Archives: Seatrade Insider

Croatia’s new Zadar port welcomes first arrival

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While it won’t officially open until this autumn, the Gazenica cruise port in Zadar, Croatia has already welcomed its first visitors.

On Friday last week (July 11th), the Celebrity Equinox became the first ship to dock at the new 12-berth facility, on which construction commenced five years ago.

The government of Croatia has spent a total of €143.8 million (£114 million) on the project, Seatrade Insider reports. This includes construction of motorway links that provide access to Zadar Airport and Zagreb.

When the port becomes active, it will be able to accept vessels of any size – though only five berths will serve cruise ships, with the remaining seven reserved for local ferry traffic.

Zadar itself is currently proving popular with cruise operators, having registered almost 70 calls and 35,000 passengers in 2013 – a 70 per cent increase on 2012. It expects to host as many as 100,000 passengers per year by 2015.

Gazenica is set to enter operation in either late September or early October.

Allure’s full European season a response to strong UK demand

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By Dave Jones

The world’s largest cruise ship will spend a full season in Europe for the first time in 2015, with strong UK demand to thank.

Following a year in which many cruise companies reduced their European activities, the news that Royal Caribbean will sail Allure of the Seas from Port Everglades in Florida – where it sails alongside its sister ship Oasis of the Seas on primarily Caribbean focused voyages – to Europe is welcome indeed.

Having carried more than two million passengers on Caribbean cruises since its introduction in 2010, the vessel will return for the first time to the continent where it was constructed and will sail from the Spanish port of Barcelona between May and October 2015.

This will follow on the rudder of Oasis of the Seas’ mini-Mediterranean season, which is scheduled for autumn of this year.

Once it has arrived in Barcelona, Allure of the Seas will offer UK and European passengers a chance to enjoy seven-night cruises calling at Palma de Mallorca, Marseilles, La Spezia (for Florence and Pisa), Civitavecchia (for Rome) and Naples.

According to Dominic Paul, head of Royal Caribbean International sales outside of North America, bringing Allure of the Seas to Europe is a “bold move”, but the cruise line is confident of success.

Speaking to Seatrade Insider, he explained that this confidence comes not only from the merit of its Oasis-class ships, but also in the strength of the UK cruise market and prospects for growth here.

Next year is looking exciting indeed, with Royal Caribbean also planning to home port its new vessel Anthem of the Seas in Southampton once construction has been completed.

Stuart Leven, the Royal Caribbean’s managing director for UK and Ireland, added: “The company is showing a big commitment to the UK market in 2015.

He added: “I believe the combination of an Oasis-class ship with all its on-board options and the great cruise destination of the Mediterranean will be a very compelling argument for both those who haven’t cruised before and also cruisers who have never experienced Oasis.”