Friday, June 20, 2014 - 19:19 by ce-press
Southampton is a sheltered deepwater port able to accommodate the largest cruiseships in the fleet within easy reach of London. The port describes itself as “hassle-free, stress free and a breeze to visit” and has received many accolades from regular users.
The port has four terminals, QEII, Ocean, City Cruise and Mayflower, all of which have welcome desks, cafes, restrooms, taxi ranks, coach bays and adjacent car parking.
Homeporting in Southampton has grown enormously over the years and this year it is expecting 435 calls, of which only 43 are pure transit calls. Passenger numbers will reach 1.68m.
Year-round as well as seasonal homeporting are features of the port which also has a number of ships dedicated to the UK market, for example in 2015 Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas, P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess and Caribbean Princess and RCI’s Explorer of the Seas.
The most recent estimated economic impact figures were in 2011 showing figures of £306.3m (E383.6m) and 3,500 jobs within Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Beth Evans, sales and marketing manager Associated British Ports, commented on joining CE: “With over 1.6 million passengers we are now one of the largest turnaround ports in Europe, but this shouldn't make us complacent. We continually strive to improve and enhance passenger experience through the port to maintain Southampton as a leading cruise port. This means working closely and in partnership with the cruiselines to enhance passenger experience, but it also means liaising with other ports to see what we can learn from them to meet best practice.
“Joining Cruise Europe provides us with an avenue to meet and network with other ports, large or small. There are many challenges that impact all ports that handle cruiseships, for example changes in legislation etc, so we need to be proactive in understanding and addressing these challenges to meet the changing needs of the cruise market.
“As you would expect we are passionate about the cruise industry and delivering exceptional service to the cruise lines and their passengers, the values and objectives of Cruise Europe mirror our passion for cruising and we are delighted to be joining a dynamic and growing organisation.”
There is currently an £11m (E13.5m) upgrade of the road infrastructure outside the port of Southampton taking place which will improve traffic flow in the area for both local and cruise passengers. Inside the port ABP are investing in altering the road layout to support this development which would include opening up a new dock gate (Dock Gate 5).
In addition, ABP is currently in discussions with the lines to upgrade and improve two of the terminals to enhance passenger experience and improve passenger flow.
The port regularly accommodates five ships on one day and has even had seven on one day when P&O Cruises celebrated its 175th anniversary.
Railway links are within 0.5 to 2 miles of the terminals with Southampton Airport 4.5 miles, London Heathrow 66 miles and London Gatwick 88 miles away.
Shore excursions to London, Winchester, Stonehenge and the New Forest National Park are all possible. On transit days tourist information is available in the terminals to assist visiting passengers.
