Tag: cruise ships

2018 was a record year for cruise ship tourism at the Port of Keelung, with passenger numbers for the year breaking a new record at 1.06 million. International cruise lines contributed the most, increasing 13% from 2017 and growing from 830,000 passengers to 940,000 in 2018.

Effective from 1st January 2019, Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands and an attractive tourist destination, has applied a new tax on cruise passengers, triggering a wave of complaints by major cruise lines, as well as the largest cruise industry trade body. 

According to port of Amsterdam's press release, the port reached a new transhipment record in 2018 with its overall transhipment reaching 82.3 million tonnes, in comparison to the 81.3 million tonnes in 2017. The port along with other ports in the North Sea Canal Area, the total transhipment amounted to 101.8 million tonnes in 2018. 

Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, the most recent addition to the Cunard fleet, has left Damen Shiprepair Brest (DSBr) in France, following a 12-day repair and refit programme. Under the programme, two scrubbers were installed on the ship.

The development of the cruise sector is in the development vision of the Freeport of Riga. Its goal is to almost double the number of cruise ships and their passengers, making Riga an important cruise and passenger ferry port in the Baltic Sea. During 2018, the Port of Riga handled 75 thousand cruise passengers in 2018, and plans to increase this number to almost 160 thousand by 2030.

The previous weekend up to a dozen of passengers that were to board at an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) cruise were arrested in Port Canaveral for the possession of illicit drugs. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and Port Canaveral conducted inspections prior to boarding, using drug-sniffing dogs, luggage searches and other methods to detect illicit substances, resulting in multiple arrests.

The Canaveral Port Authority awarded Merritt Island-based Ivey’s Construction Inc. a $78.98 million contract for the Port’s Cruise Terminal 3 project and a $29.53 million contract for the 1,800-vehicle parking garage. The $38.6 million project is expected to be completed in December.

The European Commission has agreed to the request submitted by France and Germany to look at Fincantieri's proposed acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique, ahead of the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission believes that the transaction could harm competition at European and global level.

Carnival Corporation announced that it will launch four new cruise ships in 2019 across three of its brands: Carnival Cruise Line, America's Cruise Line; Costa Cruises; and Princess Cruises. The ships are: Carnival Panorama from Carnival Cruise Line; Sky Princess from Princess Cruises; Costa Venezia from Costa Cruises; Costa Smeralda from Costa Cruises.

On December 11, Qingdao and Shibei District People's Government released the Detailed Implementation of Policies in Support of Cruise Tourism in Qingdao. According to these policies, Qingdao's government will provide incentive subsidies of up to 3 million yuan to companies and travel agencies.