A reunion with history
A Coruña is one of the Spanish ports experiencing the greatest growth in cruise tourism. From the last decades of the 19th century, A Coruña was already one of the main ports of embarkation for emigrants to the New World, with regular lines connecting it to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, competing with Vigo, Santander, and other ports. After a decline in passenger traffic, cruise ships were absent from the Galician capital for several decades, only to re-emerge strongly at the end of the last century. Today, shipping lines such as Holland America Line and Hapag-Lloyd, long-standing clients of the port of A Coruña, have returned, along with numerous other shipowners, to offer their cruise passengers the undeniable attractions of A Coruña.
Article from CruisesNews magazine
A Coruña's status as the last port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean, coupled with Galicia's history as a land of emigrants, made it a very active port for passenger traffic. However, it lacked docks for larger vessels, forcing ocean liners to anchor, which hampered port operations.
A Coruña's Cruise Ship Infrastructure
: Construction of the transatlantic pier, the main infrastructure for docking passenger ships, began in 1923 with what was then called the Transatlantic Pier (now Calvo Sotelo Pier), which extended into the bay from the old battery pier. It was designed by the engineer Emilio Pan de Soraluce and completed in 1936, just as the Spanish Civil War was beginning.
The current transatlantic pier was inaugurated in May 1991. The first ship to dock there was the Canberra, from the British shipping company P&O. This pier is 484 meters long with a draft of 11 meters, and constitutes a first-rate infrastructure for this traffic, located next to the city's historic center.
With the growth of cruise traffic came multiple stops, which led to the use of alternative docks to the Transatlantic dock since the end of the last century when several passenger ships coincided in the city, the most used being those of Calvo Sotelo Sur (420 meters of berthing line, with drafts of 6-9 meters), Calvo Sotelo Norte (220 meters in length, with drafts of 6 to 9 meters), and Baterías (220 meters in length, with drafts of 7 to 8 meters).
A Coruña Home Port – Passenger Terminals
The transatlantic pier has a passenger terminal at dock level. The first one was inaugurated on May 5, 1998, taking advantage of the first triple cruise ship call in the city's history, with the ships Black Watch, Funchal, and Vision of the Seas, the latter on its maiden voyage. For years, that building was the epitome of the transatlantic pier's focus on cruise ships, until the increase in the number of calls and the size of the ships made it necessary to replace it with a larger structure.
In addition, on August 4, 2005, a modern Congress Palace of 10,000 m2 and a shopping center of 12,000 m2 were inaugurated next to the Transatlantic Pier, accordingtoa design by the architects César Portela and Ricardo Bofill, intended to reinforce the tertiary character of that environment.
After the 2010 season, the original terminal was demolished to build the current one, which was inaugurated in the spring of 2011, after five months of work and a budget of more than six hundred thousand euros, co-financed 50% by the European Union's cohesion funds.
The Port Authority has worked on several fronts, renovating its facilities, generating specific offers, internationalizing the port with contacts with the main shipping companies and tour operators, reinforcing its presence at the main trade fairs in the sector and promoting the destination as one of the most attractive in the Atlantic.
The new terminal, designed by César Portela, is a steel and glass structure seamlessly integrated into the Palexco convention center. It is a single-story building with a covered area of 530 m²and a constructed area of 495 m²,reaching a maximum height of 4.68 meters. The building offers an open-plan area for passenger boarding and transit, as well as offices for the Police, Customs, and other agencies, in addition to a waiting room, a tourist information office, and restrooms. Passengers from the Fram were the first to use it on April 9, 2011, although the project was actually implemented to attract cruise ship passengers, as MSC Cruises did that year. That same year, the operation of the new terminal at the Transatlantic Pier was awarded to Corunna Cruise Terminal, a company formed by Rubine e Hijos and Pérez y Cia, two shipping agents with interests in the cruise sector. The concession had a term of ten years, renewable, and includes the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, loading and unloading of luggage, provision of resources and spaces, security and passenger control of the terminal, etc.
The gastronomy, the architectural heritage, the Atlantic landscape of urban beaches facing the open sea, the galleries of the so-called "City of Glass" that welcome passengers to the waterfront, and the fishing boats that can be seen as soon as you disembark, are some of the city's attractions. This is made possible by the cruise terminal's location in the heart of the city, just steps from the Plaza Mayor and the epicenter of commerce and hospitality, as well as the historic center and the beaches. Furthermore, the Port Authority has committed to reconnecting the city with the sea and bringing the waterfront closer to the public by burying traffic and developing a large pedestrian walkway and esplanade that directly connects the city center with the passenger pier.
A Coruña on Cruise Itineraries:
A Coruña is 551 miles from Southampton. This means that after just one day at sea, a cruise ship departing from that British port in the afternoon can be docked in the Galician capital in the early hours of the third day of the cruise. The other cruise port in the south of the United Kingdom, Dover, is 639 miles from A Coruña, which translates to 40 hours of sailing at 16 knots, so the ship can also reach the Galician capital without straining its engines. If that first port of call is further south, the ship would arrive around midday, which complicates the operation of optional excursions, etc.
Furthermore, A Coruña is 182 miles from Leixões (about 10-11 hours of sailing), and the latter port is 181 miles from Lisbon, which makes it possible to construct a very attractive itinerary for passengers, with reduced fuel costs for the shipowner.
A Coruña and Leixões have a collaboration agreement to boost cruise traffic on the Iberian Atlantic coast.
This complementarity with the port of Leixões led the Port of A Coruña and the Port Authority of Douro, Leixões and Viana do Castelo to sign a collaboration agreement in 2015 with the aim of boosting cruise traffic to destinations along the Atlantic coast. Among the actions included in the agreement were the joint promotion of both ports in the cruise market, the exchange of knowledge and best practices in port management, and, in general, all initiatives that benefit both ports.
Evolution of cruise ship calls and passengers in A Coruña.
A Coruña has always been a transit port for cruise ships. But logically, the sector's growth in the city began after the opening of the Transatlantic Pier in the mid-1990s, years in which the British market was the driving force of the sector in Europe: P&O, Fred Olsen, Saga, etc., as well as the first large cruise ships from international lines such as Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, etc., which, during their European summer seasons, began to visit the city.
A Coruña leads the ranking of ports on the Cantabrian-Atlantic coast in both passengers and dockings.
The first major jump in numbers occurred in 2001, when the number of passengers almost tripled compared to the previous year, although there were fewer port calls. Another significant increase took place in 2003, partly due to the greater investment of cruise lines such as Cunard, Fred Olsen, and P&O in the port of A Coruña. From 2005 to 2010, there was a gradual increase in passenger numbers, even though the number of port calls remained between 58 and 65. This was undoubtedly due to the increase in size of cruise ships during those years, with a greater capacity for tourists. The increase in 2011 compared to 2010 was partly due to MSC Cruises beginning embarkation operations in the city that year with its ship MSC Opera, which made nine port calls. The Independence of the Seas also reinforced its presence in the city in 2011 with another nine port calls.
The lack of consistent itineraries to northern Spain from cruise lines like MSC Cruises and Celebrity Cruises dealt a significant blow to their consolidation as cruise destinations. However, this situation may change, as MSC Cruises, for example, is resuming cruises from Southampton and Hamburg in 2018.
Finally, the decline in 2014 compared to 2013 is partly due to the increase in port calls at Ferrol, which increased the number of dockings in that same period by 177% (from 9 to 25 calls, with about 20,000 passengers), to the detriment of the port of A Coruña.
Future prospects
For this year, the port of A Coruña consolidates its position as the leading cruise port in the north, with 120 calls and more than 170,000 cruise passengers, which represents a great leap from 2009, when it barely exceeded 54,000 passengers.
A Coruña is a regular stop on repositioning cruises between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
This growth is the result of the Port Authority of A Coruña's determined commitment to promoting this sector, which has led it to achieve a significant advantage over its closest competitors.
For example, in the first four months of the year, according to the port's website, there will be 19 port calls, six of which are from P&O ships (whose flagship, the Britannia, will make four calls this year), and four from the German cruise line Aida. The rest correspond to long-standing clients, such as Hurtigruten, with two calls, but also to new cruise lines like Viking Ocean Cruises, which will call twice.
May is one of A Coruña's peak months for transatlantic cruises and their voyages to Northern Europe. TUI Kreuz will call at the port with two of its ships, the Mein Schiff 1 and 4, that month, and again in August. May will also see the first call of a familiar face to the port, the Independence of the Seas, which called throughout the summer of 2011 on cruises from Southampton, and which will call at A Coruña four times in 2017 as part of the twelve-night "Canaries Adventure" itinerary. Another megaship from Royal Caribbean, based in the UK, the Navigator of the Seas, will also make several calls in A Coruña. In total, these two ships will bring more than 20,000 passengers to the city. That month, the docks of A Coruña fill with ships migrating from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe, such as the Thomson Celebration, Costa Mágina, Marina, Silver Wind, and others.
Summer is A Coruña's low season, and perhaps its biggest weakness. Thus, only four cruise ship calls take place in August. The important thing is that these are from new clients, such as TUI and Aida, complementing established companies like RCI and P&O. The latter has more than 20 calls scheduled in A Coruña, including those of its flagship, the Britannia, as well as the Oriana and Oceana.
The 2017 schedule exceeds 120 stops and 170,000 cruise passengers, which represents a great leap from 2009, when there were barely more than 54,000 passengers.
September is A Coruña's other star month. The cold weather arrives and the days shorten in Northern Europe, and cruise ships flock to the Mediterranean, and to a lesser extent, the Canary Islands. There are almost as many calls in May as in September, although the ships don't usually repeat. That month, the Celebrity Silhouette, Koningsdam, MSC Fantasia, and Mein Schiff 3 will appear, all heading for warmer latitudes.
Throughout the year, cruise lines based in the UK market, such as Fred Olsen, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, etc., make a significant number of port calls. In 2017, one of them, Saga Cruises, which had invested heavily in El Ferrol, returns with several calls at the A Coruña docks. The A Coruña terminal will have twelve double calls and three triple calls this year. In addition, five calls are scheduled from ships visiting the city for the first time, including the Seven Seas Explorer, the Silver Muse, and the MSC Preciosa.
In this sector, schedules are worked out two years in advance, and from the Miami trade fair, which is held every year in March, variations in the structure of stops are very exceptional, so the schedule of the shipping companies does not usually suffer variations.
2018 will begin with a double call on January 5th: more than 4,000 passengers, mostly British, will disembark in A Coruña the day before Three Kings' Day from the Queen Elizabeth and the Oceana. Cunard and P&O thus solidify their position as two major clients of the port.
May and September are the months with the highest number of stopovers in A Coruña.
But the event of the year will be the return of regular MSC Cruises sailings. This year, three of the company's ships (Magnifica, Preziosa, and Fantasia) will call at the city, but twelve calls are expected in 2018, with the MSC Magnifica scheduled to visit nine times. Its itinerary will be a two-week cruise with the following route: Southampton, Le Havre, Porto, Lisbon, Cádiz, Málaga, A Coruña, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Southampton, with the option to embark and disembark in Southampton, Amsterdam, or Hamburg. In addition, MSC Cruises' new flagship, the MSC Meraviglia, will dock at the A Coruña piers on September 29th, on its repositioning voyage to the Mediterranean after the season in Northern Europe.
But A Coruña is also a stop on long cruises, lasting several weeks. Thus, on March 26, 2018, the Amadea, from the German cruise line Phoenix Reisen, will dock at the transatlantic pier during a 100-night cruise as it circumnavigates South America. Almost like a century ago… but with cruise passengers.
Strengths of A Coruña as a cruise port
• The Port Authority of A Coruña offers a pricing policy with competitive berthing fees and discounts on mooring, towing and pilotage services.
• An attractive city with a wide range of architecture, history, and culture. Shopping tourism in the historic center.
• Attractive optional excursions (Santiago).
• Dedicated cruise ship docks very close to the historic center. The possibility of offering almost a kilometer of docks capable of accommodating the largest ship currently under construction.
• A privileged geographical location, straddling destinations like the Caribbean and Northern Europe. A must-see route for repositioning cruises.
• Ideal stop for cruises from British and French ports.
• Port community with a vocation for service and innovation.
Some historical events related to passenger ships in A Coruña
• April 23, 1984: Inaugural stop of the Queen Elizabeth 2 in the city. Docks at the old scrap yard.
• May 3, 1991: Inauguration of the transatlantic pier by the Canberra, owned by P&O.
• May 1995: inaugural stop of the P&O-owned Oriana in A Coruña.
• August 2, 1996: Canberra's last stop in the city.
• May 5, 1998: First triple stop at the A Coruña docks: Black Watch, Funchal and Vision of the Seas.
• November 27, 1998: The Port Authorities of A Coruña, Gijón, Santander and Bilbao join together to promote cruises in Costa Verde Cruceros.
• May 17, 2000: The P&O-owned Aurora visits A Coruña during its maiden voyage. A Coruña is the first port of official call at this location.
• September 9, 2004: First and only visit to date of the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner to the city.
• April 4, 2005: The Arcadia makes a technical stop in the city days before starting its maiden voyage.
• April 29, 2008: Last visit to the city by the Queen Elizabeth 2.
• May 3, 2010: The Pullmantur ship Empress becomes, after several decades, the first passenger ship to embark passengers in the port of A Coruña.
• November 27, 2010: The Independence of the Seas becomes the largest passenger ship to call at A Coruña.
• May 16, 2013: The coincidence in the city of the ships Independence of the Seas and Ventura makes this day the day with the largest disembarkation of cruise passengers in the city of all time with 7,200 tourists.
• September 18, 2013: First quadruple stop in the city's history: The ships Deutschland, Discovery, Funchal and Hamburg coincide.
• May 2, 2014: For the first time in the history of the port of A Coruña, six passenger ships arrived on the same day: Delphin, Deutschland, Empress, Hamburg, Oriana, and Voyager. This was the largest multiple-ship call to date.
• June 11, 2015: The Anthem of the Seas becomes the largest passenger ship to date to dock at the cruise pier.
