Spanish cruise port will be able to cater for more vessels when the terminal opens
By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife aims to open its third cruise terminal in September 2016, just in time for the Spanish port to host the 2016 Seatrade Cruise Med event.
Measuring 8,473sqm, the new cruise terminal will be the largest in the region and will have a 3,300sqm luggage area, a 2,538sqm check-in area with 50 desks, several waiting areas, a security area, an aerial gangway, a taxi lane and a parking area for buses.
Joined to Tenerife’s two existing cruise terminals, the new building will have a 395m berthing line and a 10m draft in front of the main cruise berth, which has a 1,268m berthing line. It will offer easy access to the city centre. This will enable Tenerife to continue handling homeporting ships from Thomson Cruises, MSC Cruises, Fred. Olsen Cruise Line, Hapag Lloyd Cruises and Windstar Cruises.
Although cruise traffic dropped slightly in 2013, Tenerife welcomed 298 calls and 544,839 passengers. This year, the city has welcomed calls from some of the newest large cruise ships including P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas. TUI Cruises’ newbuild Mein Schiff 4 will call in November and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic will visit in December.
Cruise numbers are expected to be boosted this September, when guests will be able to take direct flights from Newark in New York, US, to Tenerife. The Tenerife Tourism Board Office hopes that the new flight route will enable cruise companies to expand the number of itineraries they offer in the Canary Islands and surrounding areas.