Design and Practice of Cruise Ports

By Zekun Cheng, Lei Gong and Chen Li

This book focuses on design technologies and practical engineering applications in connection with cruise ports and terminals. After a brief introduction to cruise ships and global cruise ports, it addresses the location, structure and layout of cruise terminals, the technologies involved, cruise terminal buildings and supporting facilities. The book also explores practical engineering cases, including projects that the authors have worked on, such as the Shenzhen Prince Bay and Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal projects. Systematically discussing the design and engineering aspects of domestic and international cruise terminals, the book offers a practical reference guide for engineers, researchers, practitioners and policymakers in relevant fields.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Springer
• Release date: May 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9789811554285

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© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

Z. Cheng et al.Design and Practice of Cruise PortsSpringer Series on Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Shipbuilding and Shipping4https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5428-5_1

1. Introduction

Zekun Cheng¹, Lei Gong² and Chen Li¹, ³  

(1)

CCCC Third Harbor Consultants Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China

(2)

Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China

(3)

College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China

Chen Li

Email: [e-mail]

As the head of the book, this chapter introduces the general situation of the world’s major cruise and cruise lines, and summarizes the development of the cruise economy and cruise ports.

1.1 Cruise and Cruise Line

The cruise originated in the early twentieth century and was used as an inter-continental transoceanic or overwater means of transporting long distance mail. At that time, the English name of the cruise ship was OCEAN LINER. As a means of transportation, traditional OCEAN LINER has been popular on the sea for more than a hundred years. With the emergence and development of the aviation industry, this traditional transoceanic OCEAN LINER, which is mainly engaged in transportation, has basically withdrawn from the historical stage and evolved into a modern cruise ship with the English name of CRUISE, which has developed into a marine vessel with fixed route on a regular basis. It is equipped with more comprehensive accommodation facilities, catering facilities, entertainment facilities, health care facilities and shopping facilities. It integrates transportation, entertainment, accommodation, catering, business, fitness and shopping, and it is specially used for travel, leisure and holiday of tourists.

Taking a modern cruise is a relatively relaxed, free and leisurely way to travel, and the cruise is a leisure place that is similar to a land resort but better than it. The cruise itself is a destination for travel and leisure, offering all-day, all-inclusive entertainment and leisure services and consumer services. Luxurious and diverse, high-quality entertainment facilities have become the main part of the leisure of tourists. Cruise tourism not only provides visitors with enough leisure space and facilities on board, but also can be attached to scenic harbors and cities along the way. Visitors can enrich and adjust the content of the tour through sightseeing, shopping and activities, which makes the cruise tourism have the advantage of spaces both on the land and the ocean. In addition, the advantage also lies in that tourists do not need to carry heavy luggage in travel, so it is easier to travel by cruise, suitable for both young and old, and having high tourist satisfaction, which makes cruise travel the fastest growing category of tourism industry.

The cruise is the service object of the cruise port terminal. The size of the cruise and number of tourists included determine the design scale of the relevant facilities such as the cruise terminal. Driven by scale economy effects, cruises are developing to full-featured, well-equipped giant cruises in both design and construction. Looking back at the history of the development of cruises, it can be clearly seen that cruises are constantly moving towards large scale, driven by the development of the cruise economy.

The representative ages and ships of large-scale development of cruises are as follows:

(1)

In 1968, Queen Elizabeth II of 70,327 gross tons, carrying 1778 passengers, ordered by Cunard Line was put into operation and became the world’s largest luxury cruise ship at that time;

(2)

In 1996, Carnival Cruise Line ordered the Carnival Destiny with a total gross tonnage of 101,353 tons. Since then, the first large-scale luxury cruise ship of 100,000 gross tons has come on the scene;

(3)

At the beginning of 2004, Queen Mary II was delivered, with a total gross tonnage of 151,400 tons, carrying 3,056 passengers and a speed of 30 knots, became the world’s largest luxury cruise ship at that time;

(4)

In 2009 and 2010, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas with gross tonnage of 225,000 tons were put into operation;

(5)

In May 2016, Harmony of the Seas of 227,000 GT that was officially delivered to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Symphony of the Seas of 230,000 GT that was just delivered refreshed the record of the super giant cruise ship again, as shown in Fig. 1.1.

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Fig. 1.1

Harmony of the Seas

The cruise line is the operator of the cruise. It determines the arrangement of the cruise service route and the location of the cruise port. It is the main driving force for the large-scale development of the cruise. At present, the world’s cruise routes are mainly operated by a few major cruise lines. Since cruises originated in the West, major cruise lines in the world are mainly located in Europe and the United States. The world’s major cruise lines include: Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Star Cruises, MSC Cruises, etc.¹

(1)

Carnival Corporation & plc. The Carnival Corporation & plc is the world’s largest cruise operator. Founded in 1972, it is headquartered in Miami. In addition to Carnival Cruise Lines, it also owns the Holland America Line and the Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic and P&O Cruises Australia. The fleet sails all the year round in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Panama. The seasonal routes operate in Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and the Canadian waters. There are cruise ports in various parts of the world.

(2)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines is the world’s second largest cruise line. Founded in 1969, it is a major brand with new types of ships, large tonnages and diverse facilities. Its operations span the Americas and Europe, and its business in the Caribbean is very prosperous. It owns cruise ship brands such as Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur and CDF (Croisieres de France). The Royal Caribbean International has the world’s largest super-luxury cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, which can be berthed at cruise ports at 65,000 locations around the world.

(3)

Star Cruises. Star Cruises is the world’s third largest alliance cruise line. Founded in 1993, it is the leading fleet in the Asia-Pacific region. It is part of the Genting Group and mainly operates in the Asia-Pacific waters such as Singapore, Malaysia, Tailand, Japan, Korea and China. In 2000, Star Cruises controlled the NCL America and the luxury brand Crystal Cruises of the United States. The brand of Star Cruises has cruises named after the constellations, such as the Star Pisces, the Megastar Aries, the SuperStar Gemini, the SuperStar Leo, the Superstar Virgo, and so on. As a luxury cruise brand originating from Asia, the Star Cruises has newly established the brand of Dream Cruises. The brand inherits the essence of regional and international cruises and is specially designed for the huge and promising high-end cruise market in China and Asia, committed to becoming a model of the industry in the region, the brand perfectly integrates Chinese and Western elements to meet the needs of the rich Asian tourists who are confident and have independent thinking, bringing passengers a unique luxury experience on the sea.

Dream Cruises is specially designed for the Chinese and Asian markets. Its first cruise ship, Genting Dream, debuted in November 2016, and its sister cruise World Dream was launched in November 2017. Star Cruises has offices in 20 locations around the world, with routes throughout the Asia Pacific, North and South America, the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, the Mediterranean, Bermuda and the South Pole. The main business areas are in Asia and the Mediterranean.

(4)

MSC Cruises. MSC Cruises is the largest Italian cruise line, the leader of the European cruise market, with a unique Italian style. The enthusiastic reception, theatre decoration, design, hospitality, food and atmosphere on board reflect the company’s idea of Made in Italy. All of its cruises are world class and offer a variety of routes and product options. It offers a year-round Mediterranean route, as well as Nordic, transatlantic, Caribbean, South American and South African routes. MSC Cruises’ sales and marketing operation center are located in Naples, and it is headquartered in Geneva, with offices in Milan, Venice, Genoa, Rome, Palermo, Bari and 26 countries around the world.

Due to the late start of cruise economy in China, there are currently no large-scale, special-purpose cruise lines. Cruise lines and cruises arriving at Chinese ports are basically operated by the above-mentioned cruise lines. However, it can be believed that with the development of the economy, the demand for cruise tourism is continuously growing. In the near future, China will definitely have its own cruise operating company and cruise lines.

1.2 Cruise Economy and Cruise Ports

The cruise economy refers to the overall economic effects generated from the development of related industries driven by cruise tourism as the core product. The basic development model of the cruise economy is to build ports and related facilities to attract cruises. In this model, the main source of revenue for the cruise economy is the consumption of products and services purchased by cruise lines in port cities and surrounding areas. These consumptions constitute the direct economic effects of cruise tourism; and the indirect economic effect of cruise tourism is: for the companies that provide products and services directly to cruise lines and their passengers and crew, cruise lines must purchase the products and services produced by these companies in order for their operating activities, this indirect effect is transmitted through industry linkages.

1.2.1 Cruise Economy

The cruise economy first emerged in the Caribbean in the mid-1960s, when it was the world’s largest cruise tourism destination for nearly half of the world’s passenger load. Since the mid-1960s, the cruise economy has been the economic model for the Caribbean to depend on. In the past 20 years, cruise tourism has maintained an average annual growth rate of 8%, far exceeding the overall growth rate of international tourism.

According to the statistics of the CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) (source from https://​www.​cruising.​org), the total number of passengers participating in the cruise holiday in 2016 was approximately 24.7 million, and the total number of cruises and their passengers has reached 300 ships and about 600,000 persons respectively. The global market’s year-on-year growth rate in 2016 once again reached a high of 6.5%, much higher than the level of world economic development. According to global authoritative cruise agencies and organizations (CLIA, ECC, PSA), the global cruise market will continue to grow in the next five to ten years. It is expected that global cruise passengers will reach 30 million in 2020 and the growth rate in the Asian market will be more obvious, and the planning and construction of cruise ports are very necessary.

According to the distribution of the global cruise market, the global cruise market can be divided into several major sectors in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and other regions of the world. The cruise market in these regions has a good correspondence with economic development.

(1)

North American Market. The North American cruise tourism market is the most mature area for the operation of global cruise tourism. The region is economically developed, with a large number of well-operated cruise ports, a wide range of cruise product sales network and extensive knowledge and acceptance of cruise products. In recent years, the situation shows that the North American market share is still the highest in all regions of the world, but the growth rate has gradually tended to be flat.

(2)

European Market.² The European market is the second largest cruise market in the world following the North American market. Among them, the British market plays a leading role in the European market, and the development of the German market has become the second largest cruise market area in Europe after the United Kingdom. In terms of market conditions, Europe has a population of 500 million, the United States has less than 400 million people, and Europeans have longer holidays and more abundant and close destinations to choose from. Therefore, the European market has greater development potential.

(3)

Asia-Pacific Market. With the continued prosperity of the Asian economy, the scale of the middle class has expanded rapidly, which has brought great opportunities for the development of the cruise economy. At the same time, large-scale new port construction, strong government support and the expansion efforts of cruise lines have made more and more Asian people interested in the emerging tourism form of cruise tourism, which will promote the continuous development of the Asian cruise market. China and India are seen as the main driving areas for the recovery of the Asian tourism market, and the Japanese and Korean markets have also maintained steady growth. According to statistics, in 2016, the Asian tourism market grew by 9.5%, while the world average was 6.5%. This shows that Asia has become the leading force in the international tourism market, mainly in the following aspects:

(1)

The cruise economy in Northeast Asia has developed rapidly. The scope of Northeast Asia includes China, Japan and South Korea and the port cities of the Pacific coast in Russia such as Vladivostok. Since the beginning of the new century, with the successive arrival of cruise lines such as Costa, Princess Cruise, MSC, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, etc., the international cruises currently operating the homeport routes in China have grown from one ship 10 years ago to 12 ships and 30,000 passengers today. At the same time as the rapid development of China’s cruise market, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Sanya, Qingdao, Dalian, Zhoushan and other cities have successively built professional cruise ports; the attraction of Japanese cruise ports and shore destinations has been further enhanced, the cruise tourism market in the Northeast Asian region has become increasingly active and has achieved rapid development.

(2)

The Southeast Asian cruise economy continues to prosper. Southeast Asia is the earliest development area of the Asia-Pacific cruise market. For a long time, the tropical islands of Southeast Asia have always been synonymous with Asian cruise destinations. The good operation of Singapore’s cruise homeport provides a lasting impetus for the development of the cruise economy in Southeast Asia. Singapore has now developed into an important gateway port and transit point for the Asian cruise areas, with about hundreds of international cruises calling or departing each year. It is praised by the world cruise organization as the most efficient cruise terminal operator in the world. At the same time, the number of berthing vessels in Vietnam and the Philippines can reach more than 400, which also reflects the demand for the development of local cruise ports.

(3)

The cruise economy in the Middle East is hot. The cruise market in the Middle East has seen new developments in Dubai tourism. Dubai is one of the fastest growing cruise destinations in Asia. The cruise terminal at Port Rashid was put into use in March 2001. In January 2010, the new cruise terminal in Dubai was completed and put into use. Dubai is expected to receive approximately 100 cruise ships and more than 383,000 passengers. At present, the world’s major cruise lines have settled in Dubai cruise port. The development of the cruise market in the Middle East is first of all to promote the expansion of the Asian cruise areas. Secondly, it will drive the development of the cruise market in the cruise undeveloped countries connecting the Middle East and Southeast Asia waters such as India and Myanmar. In the end, the development of the Middle East market will also promote the regional integration of cruise tourism in Asia and Africa.³

(4)

The development positioning of cruises in Japan and South Korea is destinations. The Japanese cruise market started earlier, but due to the limitations of its narrow domestic market, the local cruise line did not have much development. However, Japan has become one of the most important destinations for East Asian cruise tourism with its unique cultural atmosphere and mature travel services. In recent years, the port city such as Naha has actively built a new cruise terminal to provide facilities for the development of cruise tourism. The Korean cruise market is also facing a narrow market problem, but the Korean government’s fostering of tourism and the support of correct tourism industry policies, complete tourism regulations and sound tourism institutions have made it an emerging tourist destination in Asia, and also attracting the call of more cruises. The short-distance cruise routes connecting Shanghai, Fukuoka, Cheju and other port cities in China, Japan and South Korea have become the most representative routes in East Asia at the start of the market currently.

(5)

China has gradually become the center of the East Asian cruise economy. At present, the strategies of major cruise lines for the layout of mainland China are very obvious, that is, targeting emerging markets such as China, exploring new products and new routes, and promoting the development of cruise tourism in Asia. Nowadays, the East Asian region has formed a pattern of China’s tourist market as the core, co-development of cruise destinations in China, Japan and Korea and radiation to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The development of the cruise economy in China continues to heat up. On the one hand, China is regarded as the most important cruise tourist market in Asia. The world’s two major cruise group Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have opened China’s domestic homeport routes since 2006 and 2009 respectively. The capacity layout has increased year by year. China has established its position as a regional core market; on the other hand, China has become an important cruise destination in Asia with its unique oriental cultural charm, and is a must stop for cruises in the Asian region, along with the construction of professional cruise ports in Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen, Sanya and other port cities, the number of visiting cruises will increase in China.⁴

Although the cruise economy in Asia is still at a stage of development compared with Europe and the United States, the development potential of the cruise economy in Asia is great. Over the past decade, the number of cruise passengers has more than doubled. It can be expected that the scale of the Asian cruise economy will further expand with the opening of new routes suitable for the characteristics of the Asian market. Some port cities that have the conditions to develop the cruise economy must seize the opportunity to develop and construct cruise ports, develop the cruise economy, and plan and build themselves into cruise cities.

1.2.2 Cruise Port

The cruise port is a key infrastructure for the development of the cruise economy. One of the purposes of studying the cruise economy is to determine the necessity of planning and construction of the cruise port, so as to rationally arrange the cruise port and arrange the appropriate scale to provide services for cruises and cruise lines.

The cruise terminal is a shore facility for berthing by cruises, embarkation and disembarkation of tourists and cruise crew, loading and unloading of luggage, cargo and garbage. Since cruises usually sail across borders, in general, cruise terminals must be equipped with security check facilities such as entry and exit, customs, inspection and quarantine facilities, in addition to embarking and disembarking facilities, terminal building, parking lots, collection and distribution facilities, and water, electricity and communications.

The port where the cruise terminal is located can be divided into two types: port of call and port of turnaround.⁵ Its location is related to the geographical location of the port, the socio-economic status of the hinterland, tourism resources, and route distribution.

The Port of Call is a port mainly for cruises calling. It has basic functions such as cruise mooring, embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and crew, and is usually located in coastal cities or islands with abundant tourism resources, such as the Nassau Cruise Port in the Bahamas and the Zhoushan Cruise Terminal in China.

The Port of turnaround is a port mainly for cruises starting or ending the voyage and also for cruises calling. It has the functions of cruise mooring, embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and crew, cruise replenishment, waste and sewage disposal, passenger clearance, baggage check-in and crew service, usually located in port cities with a dense population in hinterland, high level of economic development, abundant tourists and convenient traffic. The cruise homeport is a kind of port of turnaround. It has comprehensive service facilities and equipment required for several large cruises to berth and enter and exit. It can provide full and comprehensive services and supports for the development of cruise economy. It is the base of cruises, the cruise is here for replenishment, waste disposal, maintenance and repair, and the cruise line establishes a regional headquarters or company headquarters at the homeport. Corresponding to major cruise lines, the main cruise homeports are also located in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia, including Boston, New York and Miami in the United States, Vancouver in Canada, London in England, Copenhagen in Denmark, Amsterdam in the Netherland, Barcelona in Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

There is certain difference in the allocation of resources and facilities between the terminal at the port of call and the cruise terminal at the turn around port or the homeport.⁶ According to the Design Code for Cruise Terminals (JTJ170-2015), according to the actual use requirements, the cruise terminal facilities located in the port of call shall be designed in line with the principle of economy and applicability, the scale and configuration of the facilities can be appropriately reduced to avoid unnecessary waste. For the general port of call, the tourists embark and disembark without carrying the baggage, so the functions of the terminal, terminal building, parking lot, etc. can be relatively simple, e.g. only configured with the simple berth, gangway for passengers embarkation and disembarkation, and the terminal building with simple security check facilities; for the port of turnaround, due to the characteristics of starting the voyage, it has higher requirements for water and land resources and facilities configuration, e.g. the fully functional berth, the gangway, the fully functional and comfortable terminal building, parking lot, rapid collection and distribution system, etc. Some cruise ports even set up cruise maintenance facilities and cruise real estate development at the rear of the terminal. In fact, because the cruise homeport has the functions and features of the turn aroun port, there is basically no difference in functions, resources and facility configuration for the terminal at the port of turnaround and the terminal at the cruise homeport.

For some cities, the local port does not have a dedicated cruise terminal in combination with route density, tourist number, economy and other factors. The arrival cruise can only be docked on container or multi-purpose terminals. In this case, the port must be equipped