By
Rebecca Gibson |
Southampton’s City Cruise Terminal is to be the official UK homeport of Harmony of the Seas as part of a £5.5 million, seven-year deal with Royal Caribbean International.
Expected to be worth £200 million to the local economy, the new deal has already facilitated various infrastructure improvements at the terminal to ensure it can cater for the 227,000gt Harmony of the Seas, which is the world’s largest cruise ship.
Improvements include an expanded processing area, a redesigned layout and security screening areas, free wifi throughout the terminal, new air conditioning, additional digital signage, and new paperless check-in for passengers to enable a ten-minute kerb-to-gangway process. Passengers will also have step-free-access to ships up to Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Class.
“Each year, more than 1.5 million holidaymakers either start or end their cruise holidays in Southampton, making the port Europe’s largest cruise ship hub,” said Stuart Leven, Royal Caribbean’s managing director of UK and Ireland. “Such a busy passenger hub deserves best-in-class facilities and at Royal Caribbean we are constantly looking for ways to improve the passenger experience. I want our passengers’ extraordinary adventure to begin the moment they arrive at the port, before they even step onboard the ship. The investment Royal Caribbean has made into the port is good news for our passengers and good news for Southampton’s economy.”
The announcement was made at the traditional ‘Plaques and Keys’ ceremony that marked Harmony of the Seas’ maiden call in Southampton on 17 May. During the ceremony, the ship’s captain Gus Andersson was presented with a plaque displaying Southampton’s coat of arms by Nick Farthing from the city’s Chamber of Commerce and James Cooper, CEO of the port’s owner and operator Associated British Ports (ABP). In return, Farthing and Cooper were given a print of Stephen Wiltshire’s artwork commissioned specifically for Harmony of the Seas. Currently displayed onboard, the artwork three of the destinations guests will visit of the ship’s inaugural voyages from Barcelona, Spain on 5 June – Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca in Spain, and Marseille in France.
“This deal will secure the port’s reputation as the UK’s number one and leading European turnaround port long into the future,” said Alastair Welch director of ABP Southampton. “Equally, it is great news for the UK economy, and the landmark deal can only increase the significant contribution cruise makes to the 15,000 jobs and £1 billion economic contribution of the port.”