(Read the original article in CruisesNews magazine, issue 34…)
The Port of Barcelona currently holds the title of Europe's largest cruise port and one of the largest in the world.
This is largely due to its being the home port for many of the ships offering seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean, the most successful product among European tour operators.
Fifty years ago, in the mid-1960s, two European cruise lines (Costa and Grimaldi) clearly understood the future of Mediterranean cruising. In the mid-1990s, others such as MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean began selling the same product. In the first decade of this century, Barcelona served as the home port for up to ten ships simultaneously during some seasons, offering essentially the same product: a seven-night circular cruise. However, market consolidation has reduced this number in recent years.
This phenomenon has coincided with the arrival of the largest and most sophisticated megaships on the market to provide this product. Fifty years ago, shipowners used the oldest vessels in their fleets for these Western Mediterranean cruises; today, they can only compete by using their largest and most modern ships.
Costa Armatori invents the seven-day cruise.
In what was the first instance of a round-trip cruise in the Western Mediterranean, the Andrea C arrived in Barcelona on August 23, 1952, from Genoa and Cannes, carrying 480 passengers on a week-long cruise with the following itinerary: Genoa, Cannes, Barcelona, Palma, Algiers, and back to Genoa. Newspapers of the time reported that the passengers "disembarked, spreading out through the city to visit its highlights and those of its surroundings."
A year later, in 1953, Costa Armatori assigned the Franca C to a new route between the Mediterranean and Venezuela and the Antilles. However, just six years later, Costa decided to withdraw that ship from the regular passenger route and convert it into a tourist cruise ship. Italian emigration from Europe had fallen from 97,700 people in 1958 to approximately 30,000 by the mid-1960s. There was a surplus of ships, and it was necessary to find new homes for them.
The Franca C was the company's first ship and a milestone in the transformation of this shipowner into the first shipping company entirely dedicated to cruises. It offered a single class of service, cabins with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning, and other amenities. The Franca C's refurbishment was completed in July 1959, the month in which it embarked on its first cruise in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. On August 6, 1959, the Franca C called at Barcelona, and a day later at Palma on its maiden voyage, repeating these same calls that year. This can be considered the beginning of Costa's more or less regular cruise visits to Barcelona and Palma. However, these were not regular calls, as the cruise durations varied considerably.
At the end of that summer season, Costa decided to offer short winter cruises from Florida to the Caribbean, also using the Franca C. After this winter season, it made a transatlantic return cruise to Italy. Thus, every year, the Franca C crossed the Atlantic in the fall to Miami and returned to Genoa in the summer.
However, the ship that truly began regular cruises for a full season was the Anna C (which had made its first cruise in 1953), another vessel on the Italy-Caribbean route that Costa had to find work for due to the decline in Italian emigration. The Anna C began its first series of cruises in June 1964 with an identical seven-day Mediterranean itinerary, following this route: Thursday in Genoa, Bastia/Cannes, Saturday in Barcelona, Sunday in Palma, Monday in Tunis, Tuesday in Palermo, and Wednesday in Naples. A program that, with slight variations, would eventually become a classic for Costa and other cruise lines. That year, the Anna C offered a total of sixteen sailings, from June 25 to October 8, 1964. The flagship product of modern European cruises had been born… although at that time it was an unattainable aspiration for the vast majority of Spaniards, for whom seeing Carmen Sevilla in the film “Summer Cruise” was the highest possible dream.
The brochure for this cruise had a revealing slogan: “un nuovo piacevolissimo modo di viaggiare nel mediterraneo” (a delightful new way to travel in the Mediterranean). Passengers could embark at the three Italian ports: Genoa, Naples, and Palermo, so it seems that interporting was invented back in 1964; and its nearly 400 passengers could make optional cruise stops to enjoy stays in the different ports. During these years, the ship began to be sold in the Spanish market, both to individual passengers and as full ship charters. In 1969, for example, Zanussi dealers enjoyed a full charter of the vessel. The Anna C remained on this route for six years, until 1969, when it was replaced by the Franca C.
This decade was very difficult for the port of Barcelona, to the point that the number of passengers from foreign ports was around 37,000 in 1964 and 1965, and only increased slightly to approximately 50,000 in 1967. In 1968, the regular ferry service "Canguro" was inaugurated between Barcelona and Genoa, which improved Barcelona's international passenger statistics, although these were not strictly cruises.
In 1970, the seven-night cruise season was split between the Andrea C and the Enrico C. That year, Costa's seven-night itinerary included departures from Barcelona from May 10 to October 4, with stops in Palma, Algiers, Tunis, Palermo, Naples, Genoa/Cannes, and Barcelona. That season, the number of cruise passengers in Genoa was 166,212, significantly higher than in Barcelona.
The Anna C offered the first season of 7-night cruises from Barcelona in 1964.
The Seven Pearls of the Mediterranean.
Just as happened to Costa, the decline of the regular passenger line to Central America affected its most direct competitor: Grimaldi Siosa. Grimaldi's response to this new situation was identical: to focus on popular cruises in the western Mediterranean. In 1964 and 1965, Grimaldi began selling the round-trip itinerary from Barcelona to Cannes, Genoa, Naples, and Palermo—the European ports of call on its Central American route—as a cruise, primarily on the Irpinia.
In 1966, it offered its first full cruise season aimed at the Italian market using the Ascania, a ship built in 1926. However, that year the ship did not call at Barcelona, but instead at Palma, with the rest of the itinerary including Cannes, Genoa, Capri, Palermo, Tunis, Cagliari, and Palma. The cruise was marketed as "The Seven Pearls of the Mediterranean and Carthage."
In 1968, Barcelona registered, in addition to the <
Its replacement was the Irpinia, another veteran built in 1929, of similar size and capacity. For eight seasons, until 1980, it continued to offer "The Seven Pearls of the Mediterranean," maintaining its itinerary and Sunday stop in Barcelona unchanged, except for the elimination of Cannes. The seasons for this cruise ship gradually increased: they generally began at Easter and extended until November in its final years.
Ausonia. Je t'aime.
The Ausonia, a ship delivered in 1957, marked a milestone in the development of seven-night Mediterranean cruises. It offered cruises for three companies: Adriatica, Italia Crociere Internazionale, and Grimaldi Siosa. It holds the record for the most calls in Barcelona and Palma, in the latter case 455 times.
After 22 years covering the routes from Italy to the Middle East for Adriatica, it was rebuilt in 1979 as a cruise ship in Venice, increasing its capacity to 690 passengers. It was first operated by Italia Crociere Internazionali, then by Chandris, and in early 1981, after the forced retirement of the Irpinia, it was purchased by Grimaldi to continue offering the "Seven Pearls of the Mediterranean" cruise. In that first season, it completed thirty-one round trips, maintaining the exact same itinerary previously covered by the Caribia and the Irpinia: Barcelona, Palma, Tunis, Palermo, Naples, Genoa, Barcelona.
For the next seventeen uninterrupted years, the Ausonia faithfully maintained its Sunday stops in Barcelona and its Monday stops in Palma de Mallorca, offering its famous "Pearls of the Mediterranean" cruise. Only in 1993 did Grimaldi decide to change the itinerary, introducing a stop in Ibiza on Monday mornings and departing mid-morning for Palma, where it offered an overnight stay, as it sailed for Tunis the following day at noon. Its competitors had much larger and more modern ships, so its owner could only fill it by drastically increasing prices. At the end of the 1997 season it was announced that the ship would be sold, and that Grimaldi was leaving the cruise industry, after being guests of the Barcelona Maritime Station every Sunday during the summer for thirty consecutive years.
During the seventies and eighties, seven-night cruises from Barcelona were covered by outdated and undersized ships.
The Enrico C, a classic for thirty years.
As mentioned, the Enrico C was already visiting Barcelona and Palma weekly in 1970, although sharing the season with the Andrea C. From then until 1979, for almost twenty years, it was a regular visitor to the old Barcelona Maritime Station, always offering its usual seven-day cruise. These were very difficult years for the cruise industry: just as mass cruising was taking off in Europe, the 1973 oil crisis occurred, leading Costa to cancel these trips in 1973 and 1974. Between June 1 and October 12, 1975, the Enrico C returned to calling at Barcelona every Sunday, maintaining its historic itinerary with stops in Palma, Tunis, Palermo, Naples, and Genoa/Cannes, with prices starting at 14,600 pesetas, or 705 pesetas/month. In the late 1970s, Costa planned a significant increase in its 7-night cruise offerings from Barcelona with the addition of the Angelina Lauro. The Angelina was scheduled to depart Barcelona on Sundays from June to September 1979, calling at Palma, Bizerte, Malta, Catania, Naples, Genoa, and Cannes, with fares starting at 36,900 pesetas. However, this ship caught fire just before joining the route, and Costa replaced it that season with the Apollon XI, a Greek vessel about to be scrapped. The following year, the situation worsened, as Costa did not offer any 7-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean.
From 1981 to 1989, Costa offered a season of seven-night cruises from Barcelona in the Western Mediterranean from June to October. However, it did not increase the number of cruises offered because it consistently featured the same ship: the ever-present Enrico C, and only offered seasons with a maximum of 20-22 sailings. If the 1970s were tough for Barcelona, the 1980s were no less challenging. During those years, Barcelona was already compiling cruise statistics: the number of cruise passengers rose from 91,500 across 182 port calls in 1981 to around 120,000 in 1990, with approximately 200 port calls. This represented a negligible increase that was not evenly distributed throughout the decade. The lowest point on record was recorded in 1985, with only 52,800 cruise passengers and 114 port calls. The figures couldn't grow because the most popular cruise options were stagnant: in the 1980s, only two ships called at Barcelona weekly, one from Costa and one from Grimaldi. Only in 1984, with Trasmediterránea's sole summer season offering seven-night cruises with the ferry Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, was there a slight increase in the number of cruises offered. Neither of the two Italian shipping companies had their own offices in Spain during those years: Costa was represented by Ybarra, and Grimaldi by Condeminas. Both general agents came from the regular liner trade, with forays into elite cruises, and either didn't know how or weren't able to increase their offerings in Spain.
Costa begins the transition.
In 1990, the 25th anniversary of Grimaldi's "Seven Pearls of the Mediterranean" cruise was celebrated. And to compete with the Ausonia, Costa broke with the practice of using old and obsolete ships on this route for the first time and deployed its most modern vessel. The situation was serious: in 1991, Genoa had the same number of cruise passengers as in 1970. In Barcelona, there hadn't been a significant increase either: the number of cruise passengers rose from 91,900 in 1981 to 132,800 in 1992, the Olympic year.
The following decade would change that trend. Thus, the Enrico Costa's successor in 1990 was the Costa Marina, with a capacity for 800 passengers. This ship only offered weekly Monday calls from Barcelona for three years. These were still difficult years, but the cruise industry in Barcelona was beginning to take off thanks to this new offering. It was replaced in 1993 by an even larger and more modern vessel, the Costa Classica, with a capacity of 1,200 passengers. Among other differences, it was five times larger than the Ausonia or the D. Juan, but only carried twice as many passengers. In 1993, Costa also opened its own offices in Spain and dissolved its partnership with Ybarra. The first result was a much more aggressive marketing campaign, especially for its flagship product: once again, seven-night cruises from Barcelona.
The following year, its sister ship, the Costa Romantica, joined the route, remaining on the service for six seasons until 1999: the first two visiting Barcelona on Saturdays, and the last four on Fridays, because from 1996 Costa began calling in Marseille to pick up French passengers. Between the first year of the Costa Classica (1993) and the last of the Costa Romantica (1999), Barcelona saw an increase from 152,082 to 541,596 passengers, a rise of over 350%.
The Ausonia is the ship that offered 7-night cruises from Barcelona for the most seasons.
The Americans arrive. Royal Caribbean's first cruises from Barcelona.
Royal Caribbean launched its first Caribbean cruise in 1970. Twenty years later, it sent the smallest ship in its fleet, the Sun Viking, to Europe. During the early 1990s, its presence remained limited due to the Gulf Wars, the conflict in Yugoslavia, and other events. It wasn't until 1996 that it deployed its most modern ship, the Splendour of the Seas, to Barcelona. This wasn't a risky move, as it only offered cruises in the spring and autumn, in the form of 12-night Barcelona-Venice itineraries, while spending the summer in Northern Europe.
A year later, Royal Caribbean offered its first seven-night cruises from Barcelona aboard the Enchantment of the Seas, but only during July and August, with Saturday departures and two alternative itineraries. The Splendour of the Seas continued to offer 12-night Barcelona-Venice round-trip cruises in the spring and fall. At the time, both ships were the largest based in Barcelona. This two-ship deployment by RCI—one for seven-night cruises and another for longer 10-12 night voyages—has been repeated year after year to this day, even though the size of Royal Caribbean ships has steadily increased since 1997.
In 1998, the seven-night cruises were served by the newly launched Vision of the Seas, and for the next two years by the Legend of the Seas, which offered seasons of around four months with two alternative itineraries. In 2002, the Splendour of the Seas became the first RCI ship to offer a single seven-night itinerary from Barcelona, departing on Sunday and calling at Villefranche, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, and Valletta. The 2002 season was significantly expanded, offering 27 sailings between May 5 and October 20, 2002. The Splendour of the Seas remained on the route for four years, until 2005.
The arrival of Costa's post-Panamax ships, the opening of Royal Caribbean's own offices in Spain in November 2005, and the European cruise boom led the American giant to deploy the Voyager of the Seas, a 137,000-ton vessel with a capacity of almost 4,000 passengers, then the largest cruise ship in the Mediterranean, from Barcelona in 2006. Offering seven-night cruises, its itinerary began every Saturday in Barcelona and included stops in Marseille, Villefranche, Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Naples, plus a day at sea. The Voyager of the Seas' inaugural season ran from May 27 to November 4, 2006, a period of over five months. This combination of megaships and an increased number of sailings meant that Barcelona saw a surge in passengers, from one million in 2004 to 2,074,000 in 2008. In just four years, the number of passengers from Barcelona more than doubled.
The Voyager of the Seas remained committed to Barcelona for five years, until 2010, maintaining virtually the same itinerary, although in 2009 the departure day was changed to Sundays.
In 2011, RCCL renewed its commitment to megaships, bringing the 154,000-ton Liberty of the Seas, with a capacity of 4,000 passengers, to Barcelona. Its seven-night itinerary was significantly modified. The ship resumed calling at Barcelona on Saturdays, with other ports of call including Toulon, Nice, Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Naples, with cruises starting at €749. This vessel remained on this route until 2014, offering between 21 and 23 seven-night sailings each year, with slight itinerary changes. In its final year, it departed from Barcelona on Sundays, calling at Marseille, Villefranche, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, and Naples. However, it never became the largest ship in the Mediterranean, a title held by the Norwegian Epic since 2011.
In the Mediterranean we will see increasingly larger ships, which only call at megaports like Barcelona, and which remain in this traffic throughout the year.
MSC Cruises' First Cruises from Barcelona:
MSC is the Italian cruise line that was the last to enter the seven-night round-trip cruise market from Barcelona. However, today it is one of the leading players in the market.
It began competing by purchasing one of the legends of this route from Costa, the Enrico Costa, which was 45 years old at the time. After serving this route for more than twenty years with Costa, it was purchased by MSC in 1995, and that summer it offered its first season of seven-night cruises from Barcelona, with Sunday departures and stops in Palma, Ibiza, Tunis, Palermo, Capri, and Genoa. That year it offered cruises between May 21 and October 29. For three years it maintained the same itinerary, competing with established ships like the Ausonia and the D. Juan. But it was clearly a transitional solution, given that it was far from the standard of the modern ships that were beginning to appear in Barcelona during those years: Costa Romantica, Splendour of the Seas, etc.
In 1998, it was replaced by the Melody, a ship twice its size. With this ship came the addition of a stop in Marseille for embarking French passengers, meaning that MSC's round-trip cruise itineraries began on Fridays from Barcelona, with stops in Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Tunis, and Palma. That year, the season ran from May 15 to October 8, 1998. The Melody called at Barcelona every Friday for five consecutive years, maintaining its May-to-October season, with 24 round trips in 2002, its final year.
In 2003, the MSC Lirica, fresh from the shipyard, took over. MSC thus added its best ship to this highly competitive route, as other cruise lines did. Both the itinerary and Friday as the embarkation day remained unchanged. In 2004, it was the MSC Opera's turn, and in 2005 and 2006, the MSC Sinfonia, all sister ships of the Lirica, joined the fleet. Starting in 2005, MSC began operating two ships on seven-night cruises from Barcelona. That year it was the MSC Lirica, calling at the port on Thursdays, and the following year it was the veteran Monterey, arriving in Barcelona on Mondays.
In 2007, MSC joined the trend of operating seven-night cruises from Barcelona with the addition of the Panamax MSC Musica, with a capacity of 2,600 passengers, departing every Friday, while the Monday departure was again covered by the Melody. That year, nine ships offered seven-night cruises from Barcelona. In 2008, MSC's only change was the replacement of the MSC with its sister ship, the Orchestra.
2000. Costa Offers Two Ships from Barcelona.
In 2000, Costa decided to invest heavily in the Western Mediterranean due to the booming industry in Southern Europe, political instability in other destinations like the Adriatic, and the fact that it was a Holy Year. How? Costa decided to offer two weekly sailings: its then flagship, the Panamax Costa Victoria, with a capacity of 2,000 passengers, and as a second ship, the aging Costa Riviera. It also introduced the port of Civitavecchia for the first time and used Savona as the Riviera's home port in Italy. The move was successful, and the following year the Costa Riviera service was repeated. However, Costa had gained market share by focusing on modern, large ships, and in this context, the nearly forty-year-old Costa Riviera was no longer viable and was sold for scrap. The Costa Riviera was replaced in 2002 by the Costa Tropicale, while the Costa Victoria remained until 2003, but that season its companion was the Costa Mediterranea. That year, Barcelona surpassed one million cruise passengers for the first time.
The opening of Marseille, and especially Savona, to cruise ships weakened Genoa's position relative to Barcelona. Although both ports exceeded half a million cruise passengers in 1999, the year in which the Ligurian port surpassed Barcelona by almost 30,000 passengers, a year later Barcelona continued to grow to 572,600 passengers, while Genoa did not exceed 397,516 passengers.
2004 was another very special year for Costa for two reasons. For the first time, Costa Cruises used a post-Panamax vessel on this route, specifically the new Costa Fortuna, which, with its nearly 4,000 weekly passengers, revolutionized the service. This was achieved by introducing very affordable fares thanks to economies of scale, and by offering a level of facilities that forced competitors to feature ships of similar tonnage. Furthermore, Costa Cruises was the first to operate three ships on this route: in addition to the Magica, the Costa Classica also offered weekly sailings, while the Costa Tropicale arrived in Barcelona every two weeks. The following year, 2005, the number of megaships increased to two, with the addition of the Costa Magica replacing the Costa Classica. Since then, Costa Cruises has consistently featured two post-Panamax vessels of over 100,000 tons on the seven-night cruise market departing from Barcelona.
The addition of these megaships had a significant effect on Barcelona's figures: the number of cruise passengers rose from one million in 2003 to 1.2 million in 2005 and 1.4 million in 2006. In contrast, Genoa had ceased to be Costa's home port, and its passenger numbers fell from 600,000 in 2003 to 475,000 in 2006, figures similar to those it had achieved in the late 1990s.
The seasons for ships based in Barcelona have been extended year after year.
NCL. The “Norwegians” Conquer the Mediterranean.
Following Royal Caribbean's arrival in the mid-nineties, another North American brand, NCL, decided to venture into the seven-night Mediterranean cruise market a decade later. Coinciding with the arrival of the Voyager of the Seas and the Costa Concordia, at the height of the cruise boom in 2006, it based the Norwegian Jewel in Barcelona. This 93,000-ton Panamax vessel, with a capacity of 2,400 passengers, offered an itinerary from Barcelona to Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, and Villefranche. NCL's initial push was lukewarm, as the Jewel offered 16 sailings that year, and only 10 in 2007, always departing on Sundays.
In 2008, its sister ship, the Norwegian Gem, took over this route. NCL changed its port of call from Messina to Valletta, and more importantly, extended its season from May to November, offering 27 sailings, more than in the previous two seasons combined. In addition, during the winter of 2009-2010, the Norwegian Jade offered cruises from Barcelona for the first time, although none were seven-night cruises. In 2009, there were 29 sailings, maintaining the same ship and itinerary. In 2010, the Norwegian Jade covered the season with 30 sailings, maintaining the same itinerary.
But the year that marked the breakthrough of NCL's commitment to the Mediterranean was 2011. The addition of the Norwegian Epic, which offered 22 sailings between May 22 and October 16 from Barcelona, departing on Sundays and calling at Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, and Palma, with two days at sea, was the sensation of the year. Its arrival in 2011 coincided with the peak of passenger numbers in Barcelona. With over 4,200 passengers, the Epic became the largest ship in the Mediterranean, surpassing its rivals from RCI, MSC, and Costa.
Its itinerary was perhaps too "Caribbean," which was changed the following year to a much more appealing one with stops in Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, and Villefranche, while maintaining the Sunday departure from Barcelona. The subsequent addition of Palma in 2013 completed the itinerary, which has remained unchanged until this year and will be repeated in 2016.
The Costa Concordia Years:
In 2006, Costa first launched seven-night cruises from Barcelona on the infamous Costa Concordia, along with the Costa Fortuna. In its first season, it called at Barcelona on Mondays, then continued to Palma, Tunis, Valletta, Palermo, Civitavecchia, and Savona—an itinerary very similar to the one the Anna C began offering in 1964. Interestingly, the ship's brief history coincides with the peak period for cruises in Barcelona, which saw passenger numbers rise from 1,765,838 in 2007 to 2,657,244 in 2011, its current annual record.
The Concordia only left the Mediterranean during the winter of 2009/2010. For six seasons, it was the flagship of the Genoa-based cruise line in Barcelona, always accompanied during the summer by one of its sister ships: the Costa Fortuna in 2006 and 2007; the Costa Magica in 2008; the Costa Pacifica in 2009 and 2010; and the Costa Serena in 2011. In 2011, political instability in North Africa, coupled with a price war in the sector, led Costa Cruises to dedicate two of its best ships to offering seven-night cruises from Barcelona, a safe, attractive, and very affordable route for European markets.
The sinking of the Concordia disrupted the company's plans: in 2012, Costa kept the Costa Serena, while the Costa Neoromantica, and later the Costa Magica, replaced the sunken vessel.
Once the immediate crisis following the Concordia's sinking had passed, in 2013 the Costa Favolosa became the only post-Panamax ship in the Italian shipping company's fleet to call weekly in Barcelona every Tuesday, with an itinerary that included stops in Palma, Valletta, Catania, Naples, and Savona. In July and August, the smaller Costa Voyager supplemented Costa's 7-night cruises from Barcelona every Monday. Costa's second post-Panamax ship in the Western Mediterranean, the Costa Serena, did not call at Barcelona that year.
In 2014, Costa resumed calling at Barcelona twice a week: on Tuesdays with the Costa Favolosa and on Fridays with the Costa Serena. The Favolosa changed its summer itinerary to include Ibiza, while the Serena switched from La Spezia to Palma. This seasonal adjustment of port calls is another recent innovation introduced by Costa.
Costa's newest ship, the 132,500-ton Costa Diadema, with a capacity of 3,700 passengers, has sailed exclusively in the Western Mediterranean since its delivery in November 2014, offering 7-night cruises with stops in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Naples, and La Spezia. It calls at Barcelona on Mondays. It has become Costa's answer to MSC's megaships, with an itinerary featuring short distances, long stays in port, and a day of sailing, a mandatory feature of all itineraries that allows you to enjoy (and spend) on board the megaships that cover the route.
The arrival of the Voyager of the Seas in 2006 marked RCI's definitive commitment to the Mediterranean and Barcelona.
Fantasia/Splendida: What a pair of MSC sister ships!
But MSC's revolution happened in 2009. While it's true that other cruise lines, like Costa and Royal Caribbean, had been operating ships of that size for over a decade at that time, it's equally true that MSC has had the most explosive transition in this market: in just fifteen years, it went from the Symphony to post-Panamax ships of almost 140,000 tons and 4,000 passengers. In terms of offerings, in fifteen years it increased its inventory of seven-night cruises twentyfold. And it dedicated these two ships, then the two largest in the Mediterranean, to compete with the Costa Concordia, Voyager of the Seas, etc., on seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean. For the next four seasons, these sister ships became the benchmark in the Mediterranean, initially maintaining Friday and Monday calls in Barcelona. However, in 2012, the MSC Splendida began calling at Barcelona on Sundays, before continuing on to La Goulette, Valletta, Messina, Civitavecchia, and Genoa. The MSC Fantasia maintained its Friday call, continuing on to Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Palermo, and Tunis.
In 2013, the MSC Preciosa took over from its sister ship, the MSC Fantasia, on Fridays. The most significant change occurred in 2014, when MSC decided that only one of its post-Panamax ships, the Splendida, would offer 7-night cruises from Barcelona. This, among other factors, meant that the number of cruise passengers in Barcelona fell by 9% that year compared to 2013.
In 2015, MSC Cruises resumed two weekly post-Panamax cruises from Barcelona: the MSC Fantasia maintained its Friday call for an extended period from April 24 to November 6, with stops in Marseille, Genoa, Naples, Messina, and Valletta. Meanwhile, the MSC Divina offered a new itinerary that docked in Barcelona on Wednesdays, with stops in Naples, Civitavecchia, La Spezia, Cannes, and Palma. As the Divina is based in Miami during the winter, its season in the Western Mediterranean is shorter, offering only seven-night cruises from May to September. (
And also seven nights in winter.)
In 2004, the Costa Magica was the first megaship to remain year-round in the Western Mediterranean, offering longer cruises to destinations such as the Canary Islands and the Holy Land. In the winter of 2010-2011, Costa decided to offer seven-night winter cruises for the first time, and the chosen ship was once again the Costa Magica, with a very attractive winter itinerary that included stops in Barcelona, Marseille, Savona, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Tunis, and Palma.
The following season, the ship selected for the winter season was the Costa Concordia. It was precisely on one of these cruises that it suffered its fatal accident near the island of Giglio on January 13, 2012. It had stopped in Barcelona on January 9 and in Palma the following day. Its itinerary was Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma, Tunis, Palermo, and Civitavecchia. In subsequent winters, its sister ships (Costa Pacifica, Costa Serena, etc.) replaced it until the 2014-2015 season, when the new Costa Diadema took its place.
MSC began offering seven-night winter cruises with the MSC Splendida, which continued to offer seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean between November 26, 2012, and February 18, 2013, departing every Monday from Barcelona and calling at Tunis, Palermo, Civitavecchia, Genoa, and Marseille. This same ship remained on this route for the next two winters with the same itinerary. Next season, its sister ship, the MSC Preciosa, will take over, offering a clockwise itinerary from Barcelona, with calls at Marseille, Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo, and Valletta. Following the attacks in Tunisia last winter, neither Costa nor MSC will offer stops in that country on their seven-night cruises next winter, despite their long-standing tradition in this market.
Neither RCI nor NCL have ever ventured into seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean. RCI had a very brief winter presence at the end of the previous decade with the Brilliance of the Seas, but always with longer cruises of 10 or 11 nights. NCL's commitment to winter in the Mediterranean is much more decisive, as it has maintained a continuous presence in the Mediterranean during the winter of 2008-2009. That year it was the Panamax Norwegian Jade, which was followed by other ships with 2,500 passengers. This coming winter, NCL will increase its commitment by keeping the Norwegian Epic in Barcelona, but again changing the seven-night circular itinerary to longer cruises to the Canary Islands. And only for one winter, as in 2016-2017 it will return to the Caribbean.
Even with tour operators' seasons becoming increasingly longer, winter remains the weak point for seven-night cruises departing from Barcelona. Only the emergence of megaships, such as the Costa Diadema, MSC Fantasia, etc., with their economies of scale and vast range of cabins, has made it possible to extend the seven-night offer into the winter season.
In 2015, all the ships offering 7-night cruises from Barcelona were megaships with a capacity of more than 2,000 passengers.”.
The Future of the Seven-Night Circular Cruise from Barcelona:
The arrival of the Oasis of the Seas in September 2014 confirmed that the future of seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean lies in increasingly larger ships that call only at ports that can accommodate them and remain in this market year-round. Following this trend, Royal Caribbean has already announced the arrival in 2016 of the third ship in the Oasis class, the Harmony of the Seas, a 220,000-ton vessel with a capacity of over 5,000 passengers, to Barcelona to offer seven-night cruises. MSC has announced that when it receives the MSC Meraviglia, a 168,000-ton ship with a capacity of 4,500 passengers, in 2017, it will visit Barcelona weekly. And in 2019, Costa will dedicate its new 183,000-ton, 5,200-passenger LNG-powered ship to compete with the two aforementioned ships in the Western Mediterranean. Cruise lines are not focusing on adding more ships, but rather replacing existing vessels with larger ones. This means increased passenger numbers for ports, while the number of port calls is frozen or reduced.
On the other hand, assuming NCL maintains its post-Panamax fleet in the Mediterranean, and that other operators like Aida continue to invest in the Mediterranean, the future scenario in the Western Mediterranean is one of competition between megaships equipped with top-of-the-line amenities. These ships call at megaports with large terminals, follow standard routes, and operate for increasingly longer seasons, eventually reaching year-round service, as is already the case with Costa and MSC.
Furthermore, with the exception of Tunisia, the seven-night cruise from Barcelona is virtually immune to the political crises that periodically affect the Mediterranean, a factor highly valued by shipowners compared to other winter destinations like the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf.
The Importance of 7-Night Cruises from Barcelona for Costa Cruises:
It could be said that the concept of a seven-night cruise departing from Barcelona was, in a way, pioneered by Costa Cruises, the first cruise line in Europe to introduce this type of itinerary to the Spanish market, back in the 1990s and continuing to this day. Since then, the cruise line's commitment to the Port of Barcelona has been key and constant for Costa.
Historical Evolution of this Product: Since the days of the Enrico Costa, how has the Costa 7-night cruise from Barcelona evolved: itineraries, offerings, ships, etc.?
The great importance of the Port of Barcelona is due to a combination of factors, including its excellent connectivity with cities both nationally and internationally, its good infrastructure, and the undeniable tourist appeal of the city and its surrounding areas.
Costa has always dedicated its best ships to the Port, catering to the tastes and needs of Spanish passengers. The 2014-2015 season was particularly notable for the introduction of its flagship, the Costa Diadema, based in this port and offering weekly departures from Barcelona, as well as another of its most modern ships, the Costa Fascinosa, also offering seven-day cruises from Barcelona.
Barcelona is and has always been a key port for Costa Cruises, and for this reason, Costa will maintain its strong commitment to the city and its port, both for its Western Mediterranean routes and for the vast majority of itineraries it will soon offer departing from Barcelona.
Costa Cruises has scheduled more than 150 calls at the port of Barcelona for the current 2015-2016 season. The Costa ships that will call at Barcelona throughout the rest of the year will include some of its newest and most modern vessels, such as the Costa Diadema, the new flagship, and the Costa Fascinosa.
Data on this type of cruise: passengers embarked in 2015 on 7-night cruises departing from Barcelona, percentage of your revenue represented by these cruises.
As part of its internal policy, the cruise line does not provide passenger or revenue data.
New for 2016 cruises from Barcelona.
Looking ahead to next year, and following the trend of recent years, Costa will maintain its strong commitment to the port of Barcelona with the positioning and calls of some of the newest and most modern ships in the fleet, such as the Costa Diadema, the new flagship, the Costa Favolosa, the Costa Fascinosa, and the Costa Luminosa, among others, which will bring a total of more than 520,000 passengers to Barcelona.
Among Costa's new offerings for 2015 is the Costa Diadema, the cruise line's new flagship, which will offer weekly departures from Barcelona.
On the other hand, during the 2016 winter and spring seasons, the Costa Fascinosa will also delight passengers with an 8-day, 7-night itinerary departing from Barcelona, exploring the wonders of the Western Mediterranean and stopping in destinations such as Palma, Palermo, and Savona, among others. Similarly, during the summer months of 2016, this same ship will sail from Barcelona offering a new and exciting 8-day, 7-night itinerary, with stops in Ibiza, Palma, and Palermo, among other destinations. Furthermore, for 2016, Costa is also increasing its commitment to air connectivity between various Spanish cities and has an agreement with the leading rail company Renfe, providing greater convenience to its embarkation ports, such as Barcelona.
Why is Costa targeting this market with the new Costa Diadema in 2014? Will the new ships that will be added between 2018 and 2020 also serve this market?
The fact that the cruise line positioned the new and luxurious Costa Diadema in this market is yet another example of its commitment to the European market, and especially to the Spanish market. Since its launch in November 2014, the Costa Diadema has been dedicated to the Western Mediterranean, with weekly departures from Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, every Monday and Tuesday respectively, on comfortable 7-day itineraries. These cruises offer a unique experience, bringing guests the authentic taste of Italian quality and excellence that characterizes Costa.
Furthermore, the new ship's positioning in the Western Mediterranean is also a response to the ever-increasing demand for cruises on this route. Information regarding the itineraries of Costa's new ships is not yet available.
Emiliano González, Managing Director of MSC Spain,
: "The importance of 7-night cruises from Barcelona for MSC:
Cruises from Barcelona have always been 100% strategic for the company since our inception." Our itineraries include at least one port of call for all 52 weeks of the year, and a second ship between March and November.
Historical evolution of this product: Since the Symphony's launch in 1995, how has the MSC 7-night cruise from Barcelona evolved in terms of itineraries, offerings, ships, etc.?
MSC has always had a presence in Barcelona. As our fleet grew, so did our presence. Barcelona is important as a primary port of call. It is the leading cruise port in Europe and a highly sought-after port for Europeans. As an embarkation port, it is vital for the Spanish market, and also for secondary markets whose passengers begin their cruise in Barcelona by plane. The number of additional pre- and post-cruise nights is also steadily increasing.
Data on this type of cruise: passengers embarked in 2015 on 7-night cruises from Barcelona, and the percentage of your revenue that these cruises represent.
MSC does not provide financial data. It only emphasizes the importance of the port and the city for its Mediterranean cruises.
New for 2016 cruises from Barcelona. In summer 2016, the MSC Fantasia and the MSC Poesia will call at Barcelona, with two weekly calls.
Next winter, from November 2015 to April 2016, the MSC Preziosa will offer weekly calls in Barcelona. Starting in November 2016, a Fantasia-class ship will offer cruises from Barcelona.
Why is MSC dedicating the new MSC Meraviglia to this market in 2017?
After its delivery in 2017, the MSC Meraviglia will call at Barcelona every week. This is the most important proof of Barcelona's significance. The company's newest ship always calls at Barcelona.
Elena Domínguez, Marketing and Communications Director for Royal Caribbean in Spain and France,
explains the importance of 7-night cruises from Barcelona for RCI.
Barcelona has always been a key port for Royal Caribbean in Europe, and seven-night cruises are our most popular product departing from the Catalan capital. This has been demonstrated this year by the company's decision to position the world's largest cruise ship, the Allure of the Seas, and next year its sister ship, the Harmony of the Seas, which will also be inaugurated in that port.
However, we also offer 10- and 12-night cruises that allow you to discover destinations like the Greek Islands with more time and detail, and with unique itineraries such as those offered by the Brilliance from Barcelona or the Rhapsody of the Seas from Rome.
Historical evolution of this product: Since the days of the Splendour OTS in 1997, how has the RCI 7-night product from Barcelona evolved: itineraries, offerings, ships, etc.?
Our finest ships have been offering 7-night cruises from Barcelona since 1996. The Voyager of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, and Harmony of the Seas are proof of the demand and popularity of this type of cruise, which has grown year after year, adapting to our customers and exceeding their expectations.
Although itineraries have changed slightly over the years, seven-night cruises from Barcelona remain the ideal way to discover the most iconic ports in the Mediterranean and the favorite vacation destinations of our Spanish passengers.
Data on this type of cruise: passengers embarked in 2015 on 7-night cruises from Barcelona, and the percentage of your revenue that these cruises represent.
This year, when the Allure of the Seas returns to the Caribbean, more than 157,000 passengers will have embarked on it from Barcelona. (We cannot provide a percentage of our revenue, as we are a publicly traded company and therefore do not have this data broken down individually.)
New for 2016 cruises from Barcelona.
Our main new addition, as we've already mentioned, is the Harmony of the Seas. This will be the world's largest cruise ship, currently under construction at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, and will debut in Barcelona, where it will be based from spring to autumn 2016.
Why is RCI dedicating the new Harmony of the Seas to this market in 2016?
Royal Caribbean has always been committed to the Mediterranean and Barcelona. Since bringing the Splendour of the Seas to the city in 1996, the most iconic ships in its fleet have been based there or have made port calls. The arrival of the Harmony of the Seas in 2016 confirms this commitment, which wouldn't have been possible without the acceptance of the Spanish market, which has consistently demanded more and better vacation experiences and has appreciated our product.
