Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - 11:49 by ce-press
Trondheim is looking to attract more turnarounds following its pre-pandemic experience with Pullmantur which undertook seven turnarounds a year between 2012 and 2019 and was due to increase this to eight when Covid-19 struck.
The largest vessel to turn in the Norwegian port was Monarch with 2,600 passengers. The check-in facilities have accommodated 1,500 passengers at one time and the operational staff are all locally hired.
“Being located in the middle of Norway, the port is a good starting port to access the north or south of the country,” says Maria Kuhnl Undheim, marketing manager cruise, Port of Trondheim.
Vaernes Airport is just 30 minutes/30km from the city, which is the third largest in Norway with many hotel beds to accommodate travellers, such as the Scandic, Radisson and Clarion hotels, as well as the city’s renowned 5-star Britannia Hotel. There are direct flight connections to Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Manchester per date.
In place of a terminal, the Clarion Hotel (located just 200m from the main cruise quay) is able to provide its 3,000m2 conference hall in different configurations. Embarking passengers can access the congress hall from the front and leave the building in the back lead by a fenced pathway to the ship with disembarking passengers following a different route. In addition it is possible to rent part of the nearby Pirsenter building which can also be set up in different ways.
For smaller or partial turnarounds - where passenger check-in can be done inside the ship - the port added 400m2 extra space at the quay where a tent can be set up for luggage handling.
In the past luggage screening has taken place at the airport but Kuhnl Undheim explains that alternatives can be considered together with the customer.
This year the port received 90 transit calls and for 2023 the 100 mark is expected to be broken.
Kuhnl Undheim says”: “Norway is a very popular cruise destination and most of the itineraries stop in the Western Norwegian fjords. Next year they expect as many as 35,000 cruise guests within the same area on one day. Spreading the calls along the Norwegian coastline is getting more important than ever.
"Given our location within Norway and our infrastructure we would gladly dive back into offering turnaround opportunities making the north of Norway even more available.”
