This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
Membership of CE enables individual ports to market themselves to the cruise lines in a cost-effective manner, and in particular the smaller and ‘niche’ ports that would not have a budget for large marketing and promotional campaigns. It also brings together the cruise port industry to learn and participate in good practices for the industry and acts as a conduit in forwarding relevant cruise information and news to the many diverse member ports.
Cruise Europe (CE) is unique in its geographical spread, from Lisbon to St Petersburg, North Cape and Iceland. Starting in 1992 with 27 ports, we have grown to 120 members – and counting. Just in the last few months, we have been able to recruit new members like Belfast, Kotka and Siglufjörður. This is an achievement of which we are very proud and it makes CE as an organisation even more relevant to the cruise lines.
Visitors to Seatrade Cruise Global in Fort Lauderdale in March can meet 15 exhibitors at the CE Pavilion, stand 1421. We are located in a very central area of the Hall. French wine and cheese will be served by the French Atlantic Ports, while our Belgian partners, Zeebrugge, will make chocolate on the stand, and will serve excellent Belgian beer one afternoon. Freeport of Riga is present in a smart, lounge-style stand. Newcomers on our pavilion are Bremerhaven and Wismar. Columbus Cruise Center is operating one port in the North Sea and one in the Baltic. Finally we are happy to welcome Dublin to our stand. (Dublin will also host our annual conference and AGM this year.)
While in Fort Lauderdale, we will also continue with our popular Monday afternoon reception. Cruise Europe will once again bring the cruise industry together, this time on the afternoon of Monday, 14 March. We have chartered a yacht that will be moored outside the Hilton Marina. Guests include the members, of course, as well as cruise line representatives and the trade press. This time, the reception is co-sponsored by the ports of Cork and Dublin. The vessel will remain berthed during the full reception to facilitate visits by the cruise executives, who may be time constrained due to the many events being organised and may just like to ‘pop in’ for a short time.
Our annual Cruise Europe Conference will this year take place in Dublin, Ireland. We meet on Tuesday 31 May 2016 for internal meetings, while cruise line representatives and trade press will be offered guided tours of Dublin and the region. In the evening we will have our popular informal get-together at the Guinness Hop Store.
On Wednesday 1 June we have a full-day conference at the Gibson Hotel, close to the port. We already have some very high-profile speakers confirmed for the conference. The formal gala dinner is on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday 2 June, speakers and delegates have the opportunity to join the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) conference at Dublin Castle. Many of our member ports are also members of ESPO and the dates were coordinated to facilitate the two conferences.
Cruise Europe plays an active role in all working groups of the forthcoming European Code of Practice for Cruise and Ferry Ports. The work is part of the efforts of the European Cruise and Ferry Port Network, set up within ESPO.
The Network brings together ESPO, Cruise Europe, Cruise Baltic, Cruise Britain, Cruise Norway and MedCruise, in a strategic cooperation that provides a united voice of the European Cruise and Ferry Port sector – while it advances the sharing of expertise, and strengthens the efforts to effectively represent the sector towards the European institutions.