It will be located at the second cruise ship dock that the Port of Bilbao has in Getxo and is designed to make this enclave a home port and thus increase the number of tourists arriving by boat to the Basque Country.
Modern, dynamic and bright building
The new cruise terminal will be fifteen meters high and have 3,200 square meters of usable space. It is conceived as a large, light, and very bright glazed container with a rectangular floor plan, protected by a lightweight zinc roof, with six skylights to further enhance the sense of brightness, and whose sloping facade gives the building a dynamic feel.
It will consist of two main floors, as well as an intermediate mezzanine. The ground floor will house the lobby and tourist information desk, and will also be used for passenger check-in and baggage claim for embarking passengers, as well as a large area for disembarking cruise passengers to collect their luggage. The mezzanine will contain the VIP lounge and offices; and the first floor will include the waiting area, the passenger boarding control area, and the disembarkation area.
To meet the needs of passengers embarking and disembarking from Getxo—where baggage handling is crucial—the building's design incorporates separate passenger and baggage flows. There will also be separate staircases for arriving and departing passengers, facilitating passenger movement. This dual access is key for ports like Bilbao that aspire to become homeports.
Another important feature of the terminal is that it opens directly onto the ships. Passengers access the terminal and/or the ship directly, comfortably, and safely, without having to step onto the dock, thanks to a moving platform or "finger" or "gangway" similar to those used in airports.
Iconic and longest ships
In 2015, the Port of Bilbao welcomed a significant number of newly built cruise ships, some even larger than other tourist vessels that had docked in previous seasons. Many of these ships were among the largest cruise ships in the world.
The Anthem of the Seas , owned by the Royal Caribbean cruise company , stands out for its size – it is the second largest in the world at 348 meters long and has a capacity for 4,200 passengers – and for choosing Bilbao for its inaugural voyage.
Other notable cruise ships include the Britannia, from the Carnival Group (330 meters and nearly 4,000 people), the Celebrity Eclipse, from Celebrity RCCL (317 meters long and 2,645 passengers); andthe Explorer of the Seas, from the RCCL company (311 meters and 2,600 passengers).
Two new cruise lines ( Aida Cr. & Grand Circle Cruise Line ) have made their debut, joining companies such as Fred Olsen, Oceania Cruises, Crystal Cr., Linblad, Louis Cruises, Phoenix Reisen, Residence at Sea, Sea Cloud, and Silver Cr.
In total, 43 cruise ships called at the Port of Bilbao in 2015, nine of which were visiting the port for the first time, carrying 70,541 cruise passengers. Half of these tourists were British, 17% German, and 13% from the United States.
In March, when the US trade show takes place, the forecasts for 2016 will be announced, although it is already indicated that next season there will be an increase in traffic, around 55 cruise ships, thanks to the new cruise dock that allows the Port of Bilbao to offer three berths and to promote itself among the main companies without space restrictions.
