By
Rebecca Gibson |
Royal Caribbean Cruises Lines (RCCL) has contracted Southampton Cargo Handling (SCH) to provide passenger and stores services for cruise ships calling at the UK port of Southampton for the next three years.
Extending the companies’ existing agreement, which has spanned more than ten years, the contract cover port terminal services for ships from several of RCCL’s brands including Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Azamara Club Cruises. In total, ships from the brands will make more than 40 turnaround calls in Southampton this year.
“On many occasions the first person our guests come into contact as they arrive to begin their holiday onboard one of our ships is with a stevedore as they hand over their bags to be taken onboard,” said Adam Sharp, head of port operations and guest port services for RCCL. “It’s imperative we have a professional, courteous and welcoming company which matches our experience onboard and we’re delighted to have SCH working so closely with us on this as they have done for a number of years since we arrived in Southampton.”
SCH will handle port terminal operations for Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse, Azamara Club Cruises’ Azamara Quest, Royal Caribbean International’s Explorer of the Seas and its newbuild Anthem of the Seas.
The 168,000gt newbuild, which measures 348m and caters for 4,180 passengers, will be the biggest passenger ship to call at Southampton in 2015. SCH will provide passenger baggage and general store handling services during her regular calls and will also be responsible for mooring the ship.
“It will be an exciting year for RCCL and we are committed to maintaining a seamless port turnaround for their ship calls in Southampton,” said Kevin Hulme, SCH operations director. “The size of Anthem of the Seas will present its own handling challenges and we are already engaged in planning the processes that will help to provide passengers with the best possible service.”