The commitment of cruise lines consolidates the leadership in cruises of the Port of Barcelona in Europe and the Mediterranean. The Catalan port will this year receive 12 ships on their first visit, some new to the market.

The Port of Barcelona confirms its leadership in cruises in Europe and the Mediterranean, with the forecast of closing 2015 with a record 2.5 million cruise passengers. These will arrive on the over 732 cruise stopovers by 39 cruise lines operating at the Port, virtually all the companies involved in this sector present in the Mediterranean.

This year the Port of Barcelona will receive 12 cruise ships on their first visit, some of which are new to the market, such as Anthem of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas (Royal Caribbean), Britannia (P&O) and Costa Diadema (Costa Crociere). Other cruise ships that are visiting the port for the first time are Explorer of the Seas, Allure of the Seas – the largest in the world, 365 metres in length and a capacity for up to 6,000 passengers –Caribbean Princess, Wind Legend , Star Breeze, Aidastella, Rhapsody of the Seas, and Viking Star. With this last ship, the company Viking Cruises has started operations in Barcelona in its first non-river experience.

The busiest day this year will be Sunday 13 September, when the Port of Barcelona will host four large cruise ships and 26,770 passengers are expected. Precisely that weekend, from 11 to 13 September, will bring together the greatest total volume of passengers, with more than 58,000 who will arrive or leave the city on 14 different ships.

This season there will be a maximum of 6 cruise ships on the same day. This is influenced by the greater capacity of the ships and the fact that the total number of stopovers is spread out somewhat more evenly throughout the season.

Barcelona, ​​best turnaround port operations at the Cruise Shipping Miami trade fair

The Port of Barcelona has received awards this year in two categories from the prestigious publication Cruise Insight (The global cruise market), in the framework of the Cruise Shipping Miami trade fair 2015. This year, the Catalan infrastructure has been recognized as ‘Best turnaround port operations’ and ‘Best destination experience for independent passengers’. In order to choose the winners, Cruise Insight uses the opinion of top executives from world cruise companies, who through a survey determine the most outstanding ports, destinations and terminals in different modalities.

In the category of ‘Best Turnaround Port Operations’, the ability of the Port of Barcelona to efficiently perform several operations simultaneously at the start and end of the trip, as well as the excellent level of service of its public and private cruise  terminals (operated by Creuers del Port de Barcelona and the Carnival Group, respectively) were rated, among others.

By passenger volume, Barcelona retains the fourth ranking as a cruise home port, preceded only by the three major ports in the State of Florida (Miami, Port Everglades, and Port Canaveral).

In addition, the awarding of the prize for ‘Best destination experience for independent passengers’, which refers to cruise passengers who choose to explore the destination without an organized tour, not only recognises the appeal of Barcelona and the proximity of the terminals the city centre, but also the development of information resources and infrastructure that the city offers to visitors. Owing to the efforts of the city’s tourism industry, both from the private sector and public administrations – City Council, Barcelona Tourism, Port, Airport, etc. – the Barcelona brand and image is consolidated.

Source and photo: BCL