Issue One | £4.50 / €5.00MALAGA | November1 2020 PORTS & DESTINATIONS ESSENTIAL PLANNING INFORMATION FOR AGENTS EXPLORE WITH REGENT: IT’S ALL INCLUDED! EMERALD AZZURRA HEADS TO THE MED IN 2021 FOCUS ON: THE MEDITERRANEAN StowawayMedia.com VISIT MALAGA.COM/PORTS FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS CONTENTS 3 4 NEWS We’re here to inspire you Welcome to the first issue of Ports and Destinations, a new magazine that focuses on the wonderful places your clients can visit on a cruise holiday. Time and again, polls show that destination is the number one driver when it comes to choosing a cruise. But how many people, I 6 CLIA COMMENT wonder, consider all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to provide the ports and excursions that make going ashore so easy. FOCUS ON AZAMARA That’s what this new magazine is all about. 8 We’ve launched with a special look at the Mediterranean, a vast sea separating two continents that harbours everything from A-list cities 11 CRUISING THE MED and sun-kissed islands to ancient Greek and Roman history. Future issues will focus on other favourite cruise regions around the world. We’ve also got a special report on Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ all-inclusive shore-ex programme, look at what makes Azamara the cruise-cum-destination specialist, and highlight some of region’s favourite ports, providing useful information that agents can use to inspire their clients. Enjoy! 14 FOCUS ON REGENT SEVEN Keith Ellis, Publisher, Stowaway Media SEAS CRUISES 16 TAKE THREE PORTS To arrive at Cartagena is to enter Spain fully... to enjoy (MARSEILLE/TOULON/NICE) the best of an entire country, without ever leaving this region where the sun -and time itself- have mellowed 18 PROFILE: BODRUM each little corner into a unique treasure Vestiges of a thousand-year-old culture, gastronomy 20 PROFILE: CARTAGENA that prides itself on excellence in every dish, the best beaches for enjoying water sports all year round, a different form of leisure living, popular and religious 22 PROFILE: GIBRALTAR festivals... No place offers more Spain than this unique port: the Port of Cartagena 24 PROFILE: LIVORNO 26 PROFILE: BARCELONA 28 INTRODUCING MEDCRUISE 30 PORT LISTINGS Published by ..............Stowaway Publications 10 Tadorne Road, Tadworth KT20 5TD Surrey +44 (0)1737 81 2411, [email protected] Written and Edited by: ................Jane Archer [email protected] Creative ....Andrew Reeves, Oddsock Design * All cruise information is correct at the time of going to press. [email protected] Contact individual cruise lines for the most up-to-date itineraries and schedules. Front cover image: Emerald Azzurra Brought to you by the Mediterranean PORTS & DESTINATIONS Powered by Spain 4 NEWS NEWS 5 Dover employs ECO-robot to clean ships’ hulls Cruise ships visiting Dover port can now enjoy a hull spring clean thanks to a new machine developed by Norwegian cleantech company ECOsubsea. The machine uses a robot-like ‘vehicle’ to remove debris from a ship’s hull and pump it ashore, which helps to protect the ocean and marine life. The machine also minimises the spread of alien invasive species between continents and Tallinn embarks enables vessels to operate more efficiently because, once cleaned, they use less fuel and on a green future therefore generate lower emissions. Sonia Limbrick, head of cruise at Dover port, said they are always looking for ways to The Estonian port of Tallinn is building an implement good environmental practices. “I am sure this intense cleaning regime will have eco-friendly cruise terminal that uses sea a positive impact on our port and wider environment,” she added. power and solar panels for its heating and Disney Cruise Lines’ Disney Magic was the first vessel to get an ECO hull clean while in energy. Dover this summer. The machine will be available to all other visiting cruise ships. Port authorities are also working with Sky-high monasteries a highlight city officials to create a walkway from the quay into the old town. They hope this will as Celestyal adds Volos calls encourage guides to ditch bus transfers and Glacier Bay instead walk groups from the port to the The Greek city of Thessaloniki and an excursion to the spectacular ‘hanging monasteries’ of town, which takes just 10-15 minutes. stars on ACL’s Meteora feature in a new Eclectic Aegean voyage launched by Celestyal Cruises. In keeping with its green image, the new SeaDream The seven-night sailings, departing in October and November 2021 on new ship Celestyal terminal, slated to open in July 2021, has Alaska newbie Experience, operate round-trip from Piraeus, the port for Athens, with embarkation also been designed specially to meet the needs American Cruise Lines’ available in Thessaloniki to attract the self-drive market from eastern European countries. of both the cruise industry and the local spices up its 175-passenger American The vessel joined the Celestyal fleet this summer after previously sailing as Costa community. A rooftop promenade will be Constellation will be spending two neoRomantica for Costa Cruises. open to all and the facility will be used for Grenadines days in Alaska’s Glacier Bay on The itinerary includes a night in Istanbul, where Celestyal is including a free boat trip concerts and conferences out of season a new 11-day Alaskan Explorers’ on the Bosphorus and trip to the spice market, and visits the Turkish port of Canakkale (cruise ships only sail in the Baltic between cruises cruise round-trip from Juneau for tours to the remains of ancient Troy and Gallipoli battlefields. The monasteries (six late April and mid October). launching in 2021. The cruise line remaining of the original 24) are perched 400 metres in the air on pillar-like rocks in Tallinn is a favourite stop for cruise The spice island of Grenada features on has also lined up new itineraries Meteora and reached on a day trip from the Greek town of Volos. passengers on account of its medieval walled a new series of voyages in the Caribbean along the US East Coast and on Celestyal Experience enters service in March 2021 with a Three Continents cruise visiting old town. Some 338 vessels called in 2019, that SeaDream Yacht Club is starting in the Mississippi River between Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus before switching to a summer Idyllic Aegean making it the second busiest Baltic port after November. Memphis and Nashville, and itinerary calling into Rhodes, Santorini, Milos, Mykonos, Kusadasi and the new port of Agios Copenhagen, and that is expected to rise to The one-week cruises, on the a selection of pre-cruise land Nikolaos in Crete. 375 in 2021. 112-passenger SeaDream I, also call into packages, including a two-night the islands of St Vincent, Bequia, Canouan, VIP stay at the Guest House Hotel Mayreau, Union and Tobago Keys on the in Memphis and tour of Elvis Brisbane eyes year-end opening for new terminal Down Mexico way Grenadines. The vessel is the first cruise ship Presley’s home, Graceland. to operate in the West Indies since Covid-19 caused the global cruising industry to come The Australian port of Brisbane is due to open a new cruise The Mexican port of Cabo San Lucas, to a halt. terminal at the end of the year. The A$177m facility, on the the gateway to the Sea of Cortez in The voyages, running from November outskirts of the city, will enable the port to handle the world’s Baha California, is among highlights of a 2020 until April 2021, are round-trip from biggest cruise ships. Some 150 cruise calls and turnarounds programme of new cruises from Los Angeles Windstar spreads its wings for 2021 Bridgetown in Barbados, which, at the time are due to call into Brisbane in 2021 with city tours, a river from Princess Cruises. The port call features A helicopter flight over the hill-top palace of Masada followed by a tour of the Old City of of writing, the British are allowed to visit cruise and trips to a koala sanctuary among excursions on in a selection of five-night cruises round-trip Jerusalem awaits clients as Windstar Cruises returns to Israel next summer after several provided they have a negative Covid test offer. The terminal was scheduled to open in October but was from LA next summer, as well as a six one- years away. within 72 hours of flying and again on arrival. delayed because of the Australian ban on cruising caused by week Mexican Riviera voyages that also call Star Legend will be sailing a new itinerary round-trip from Piraeus (Athens) that calls Grenada is popular for its pretty capital of the Covid pandemic. into Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. into Ashdod and Haifa in Israel, and Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt, from where there St George’s, its sandy beaches and the array IN BRIEF is an excursion to Cairo and the pyramids. An alternative cruise round-trip from Piraeus of spices – everything from nutmeg to ginger transits the Corinth Canal and overnights in Istanbul, where tours visit bazaars, cruise the - that grow there. Excursion options will take Celebrity Cruises will be visiting Thessaloniki Marella Cruises has revised its Taste of the Tropics Trains, boats and gushing waterfalls are among Bosphorus and take in a Whirling Dervish show. passengers river tubing, kayaking or on an for the first time next summer on a series voyages round-trip from Barbados to include highlights ashore as Holland America Line’s new The two voyages are among a host of new itineraries in the Mediterranean, Alaska, Baha island tour to learn about nutmeg, cocoa and of 12-night Turkey and the Best of Greek calls into Charlotte Amalie and Frederiksted in the ship Rotterdam makes its debut in Northern Europe California and Iceland that Windstar has lined up for 2021.