SHC Renews Contract with Liverpool City Council

SHC Renews Contract with Liverpool City Council

SCH announced an extension to its contract with Liverpool City Council to support all cruise ships calling at Liverpool Cruise Terminal (LCT), according to a press release.

 The cruise ship services provider has supported LCT for almost ten years. The company provides personnel for all stevedoring, including baggage handling, store loading and rope handling services. Meanwhile, the sister company Cruise and Passenger Services (CPS) provides parking services for travellers.

SCH Liverpool General Manager Karen Grogan said: “We have partnered with LCT for nearly ten years and have helped the city to become a leading destination for cruise ships calling in the UK. We are delighted that Liverpool City Council has chosen to extend this relationship and look forward to continuing to deliver a first-class service.”

LCT expects a total of 115 cruise calls this year with nearly 40 turnarounds, including Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Ambassador Line and Noble Caledonia. Additionally, LCT supports regular operational calls from working ships, Royal and Foreign Navy visits and supporting maritime aspects of city events.

Head of Cruise Liverpool John Mawer said: “We welcome this continued relationship with Southampton Cargo Handling (SCH). Strong partnerships are a crucial element to the success of Cruise Liverpool and we look forward to a busy and successful three years ahead. With support from SCH for our stevedoring and rope handling requirements, I am assured we can continue the positive growth that has been seen in Liverpool over the last decade.”

Fred. Olsen Launches 108-Night World Cruise for 2021

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is launching its new 108-night world cruise for 2021 aboard the Black Watch, sailing on Jan. 8, 2021 on the Boudicca.

Guests booking prior to May 31 can look forward to free gratuities and an onboard credit. 

Justin Stanton, Sales and Marketing Director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines said:

“This exceptional 'Around the World’ sailing, aboard 880-guest Black Watch, will allow guests to explore and enjoy diverse landscapes, cultures and wildlife, right across our magnificent planet.

"And what's more, guests will be able to return to the ship and refresh themselves in the bar, unwind with a treatment in the Atlantis Spa, or enjoy an action-packed shore excursion, all on Fred. Olsen, with up to £600 per person free on board spend. We will even pay for your tips! This inspirational voyage – taken from Fred. Olsen's eagerly-awaited 2020/21 cruise program – is particularly exciting, as it is the first time that guests will have the option to set sail on such an epic exploration from Liverpool. 

"With scenic cruising, spectacular sights and culture a-plenty, this 'Around the World' voyage has all the makings of a truly sensational holiday, sure to create memories to last a lifetime."

Prices start from £10,799 per person. 

Ports of call: Southampton, UK – Oporto (from Leixões), Portugal – Funchal, Madeira – Santa Cruz, Tenerife – Santa Cruz, La Palma – Bridgetown, Barbados – St John's, Antigua – Road Town, Tortola – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos – Havana, Cuba – Colón, Panama – Cruising Panama Canal – Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica – Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia – Fakarava, French Polynesia – Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia – Raiatea, French Polynesia – Bora Bora, Society Islands, French Polynesia – Crossing the International Date Line – Nuku'alofa, Tonga – Savusavu, Fiji – Mystery Island (Inyeug), Vanuatu – Noumea, New Caledonia – Sydney, Australia (two-night stay) – Burnie, Tasmania, Australia – Melbourne, Australia – Albany, Australia – Perth (from Fremantle), Australia – Surabaya, Java, Indonesia (overnight stay) – Singapore (overnight stay) – Sabang (Weh Island), Sumatra, Indonesia – Colombo, Sri Lanka – Kochi, Kerala, India – Mormugao, Goa, India – Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (overnight stay) – Aqaba, Jordan – Cruising Suez Canal – Haifa, Israel (overnight stay) – Limassol, Cyprus – Valletta, Malta – Malaga, Spain – Southampton, UK

This is the fourth itinerary to be teased from Fred. Olsen’s 2020-2021 cruise program, which will be launched in full in March 2019.

Liverpool’s Turnaround Business to Grow

Liverpool’s Turnaround Business to Grow

“We see our turnaround business growing from 2021 once the new cruise terminal is fully operational and we have projected an increase in transit calls, but this is down to more vessels in the Irish seas over the next years,” said Peter Murney, head of cruise and maritime operations at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal.

The port is expecting around 57 ships this year, with projections calling for 70 in 2019, he said.

Highlights include inaugural visits from vessels from Viking, Seabourn, AIDA and FTI. Overnight customers include the Celebrity Eclipse and Hapag-Lloyd’s Europa. There is also the return of the Disney Magic.

The new terminal facility is due to be completed sometime in 2020, Murney said and will be able to accommodate turnarounds from vessels with up to 3,600 guests.

“The Port of Liverpool has an area of shallow water which we are working with the port to dredge. With environmental issues we are looking at all green options when building the new terminal; this includes cold ironing and LNG,” he noted.

CRUISE SEASON BRINGS IN £7M

Cunard's Three Queens in Liverpool

Liverpool Cruise Terminal helped to generate an economic impact of about £7m during the summer season after welcoming more than 100,000 passengers, according to the latest figures.

A report to go before the city council's Culture, Tourism and Events Select Committee next week said 63 cruise liners visited, bringing 114,676 passengers and crew to Liverpool. Inaugural calls were made in 2016 by four different vessels, including two visits by the Disney Magic ship.

To coincide with second the Disney Magic visit, a free family-focused event was programmed comprising an outdoor cinema screen showing Disney films, a Victorian bandstand with performances and a firework finale for both passengers and spectators.

In 2017 – a year when Liverpool Cruise Terminal celebrates its tenth anniversary – there have already been 65 confirmed cruise calls, with more than 108,000 passengers and crew expected.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that plans are being drawn up to build a permanent cruise liner building. Liverpool City Council has identified the former Princes Jetty at Princes Parade, close to the landing stage, as a preferred location.

Cunard liners mark 175th anniversary in Liverpool

Cunard liners mark 175th anniversary in Liverpool

Video: Red Arrows fly over the three Queens in Liverpool

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Three famous ocean liners have sailed together in Liverpool for the first time to mark Cunard's 175th anniversary.

The Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth saluted the city where Samuel Cunard began his transatlantic line in 1840.

Thousands of people lined the River Mersey to watch the "three queens" perform a synchronised sailing display.

As the fleet completed its manoeuvres, the Red Arrows performed a fly-past.

Captain Christopher Wells, who was at the helm of the Queen Mary 2, said it was a "very special weekend".

"It allows us to celebrate our anniversary in the city where the company was founded.

"To have that celebration is very important not only to us, but also to the city," he said.

The three Cunard Queens sailed on the River Mersey

Crowds gathered at Crosby Beach

As the fleet completed its manoeuvres, the Red Arrows performed a fly-past

The event celebrates the famous shipping line's formation 175 years ago in its original home port

The display was part of a three-day celebration

The display was part of a three-day celebration, which ends on Tuesday, marking the company's first transatlantic crossing from Liverpool.

Sir Samuel Cunard, who founded the service, sailed aboard the RMS Britannia to Boston on its maiden voyage on 4 July 1840.

The Cunard company revolutionised travel in the 19th Century with its steam ships which added speed and safety to journeys which had previously been made on less reliable sailing ships.

By the early part of the 20th Century, the company's "big three" liners - Mauretania, Berengaria and Aquitania - were the primary means of passenger transport across the Atlantic

The shipping company moved its headquarters from the Cunard Building on Liverpool's waterfront to Southampton in 1965.

Cunard at 175: Facts and figures

• Since the first scheduled service across the Atlantic, Cunard ships have crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic, in peace and war, without fail every year
• More than 109,000 bottles of red wine are consumed every year on board Queen Victoria
• The annual sugar consumption on Queen Mary 2 is enough to make eight million scones

Liverpool cruise liner Black Watch scoops string of awards ahead of first transatlantic sailings to Canada in decades

Liverpool cruise liner Black Watch scoops string of awards ahead of first transatlantic sailings to Canada in decades

Fred Olsen cruise liner, MS Black Watch at the Pier Head, Liverpool

Fred Olsen’s transatlantic Liverpool cruise liner Black Watch has scooped a string of awards voted for by passengers.

The ship, which will undertake a record 14 cruises from Liverpool’s Pier Head this year, topped three small ship categories in Cruise Critic’s prestigious UK Cruisers’ Cruise Awards 2015.

The 28,631 gross tons liner, which carries 804 passengers, was named best for service, best for shore excursions and best for value.

Black Watch was built as Royal Viking Star for the now defunct five star-rated Royal Viking Line’s long distance ocean cruising, and will sail the first Liverpool - Canada transatlantic crossings since 1971 this year.

The spacious liner will undertake two return voyages from Liverpool Cruise Terminal to Canada in May and August, the first direct sailings to Canada since Canadian Pacific’s flagship SS Empress of Canada closed ocean liner services from her Liverpool homeport 43 years ago.

Nathan Philpot, sales and marketing director for Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “At Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, we believe in providing the very best customer experience that we can on our cruise holidays, from start to finish. We are renowned for our ‘service with a smile’ on our smaller, more intimate ships, which is why 58% of cruise guests choose to return to the ‘friendliest fleet afloat’ each year – one of the highest repeat rates within the travel industry.

“We would like to thank all those valued cruise guests who voted for Fred Olsen, and we look forward to welcoming you on board with us again in the very near future.”

Black Watch’s cruise season from Liverpool begins next month with a 13-night sailing to the Canary Islands at Easter followed by a further 13 cruises, including a two-night Dublin mini-cruise in December, a 25 night voyage to the Adriatic and a journey through the Norwegian Fjords in May.

Her sister ship Boudicca was Fred Olsen’s previous Liverpool cruise liner.