Cruise season takes Philly by storm
By Hazel Heyer
ORLANDO, Florida (eTurboNews) --
It is now becoming a popular trend, starting one’s vacation
close to home by cruise. The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA)
said numbers are rising and thanks to this growing trend. It has just
entered its biggest cruise season ever this year. With more ships
choosing to call at ports outside Florida and passengers choosing to
embark earlier than later for the Caribbean at this former Navy yard,
this South Philadelphia port says it’s riding the crest of the
wave of home-porting.
According to the DRPA, cruising
from Philadelphia presents an affordable and convenient option for
those driving to their cruise destination. One of Philadelphia’s
selling points: it is within a five and half hour-drive of 25 percent
of the US population and proximity to the I-95, I-76 and Philadelphia
National Airport. In 2003, the average cruise party (2.4 people)
spent $187 on travel expenses such as gas, tolls, train to
Philadelphia. Once there, parking at the cruise terminal is
relatively inexpensive at $10 per day, according to the DRPA with
facility between Baltimore Port and New York City.
“We have seen tremendous
growth in recent years. This growth has benefited residents of our
region who enjoy the luxury of starting their vacation close to
home,” said John J. Matheussen, DRPA’s chief executive officer.
Ships docking in Philadelphia
with more sailings, special pre- and post-cruise packages kicked off
the cruise season Sunday April 24 through late October at the Port of
Philadelphia and Camden: America’s Berthplace.
Three lines, Norwegian Cruise
Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), the
second largest cruise line in the world, will offer 32 sailings from
the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal at Pier 1 from spring to fall.
Several port calls from lines such as Seabourne and Silversea will
follow. Over 92,450 passengers are expected at the terminal with 10
more sailings added to the 2004 figures, reporting 65,000
passengers. In 2003, this port had 16 sailing and 50,000
passengers; in 2002, only one sailing.
Another benefit this port enjoys;
cruise ships are much faster than they used to be. People can get to
the Bermuda from Philadelphia faster these days, making Philadelphia
no longer out of range as it was in cruisers’ minds before. Even
the eastern Caribbean which has been least accessible in the past is
serviced today from this port, thanks to the bigger, faster vessels.
Added DRPA’s My Linh Nguyen, “As ships can be home-ported
in Philadelphia, people can just drive here. They do not have to fly
allowing them to start their vacation straight away. After 9/11, this
has been a major benefit to us with cruise lines basing their ships
closer to population centers.” The port said it offers a
convenient way to see the Bermuda, New England and Canada, at the
same time, gives the region another stimulus to its economy.
“Growth has benefited local
businesses that help service the cruise industry
- the local men and women whose
jobs depend on the cruises that call on Philadelphia,” said
Matheussen adding in 2005, the cruise terminal is expected to
generate 358 full-time equivalent jobs for local residents.
Overnight cruisers (party of 2.4)
spent approximately $226 during 2004 stays in the Philadelphia
region, with the majority of the money going towards lodging and
food. CruisePhilly program in the same year generated approximately
$16 million in business revenue and 195 full-time equivalent jobs.
Nguyen said opportunities are not only available to the port
authority, but also to people from Pennsylvania and New Jersey
seeking employment.
For influx never seen before such
as this, improved facility and enlarged capacity remain crucial. Thus
far, since opening the Philadelphia Cruise Terminal at Pier 1 in
1998, the DRPA has invested $15 million in improvements to the
facility. “The DRPA’s investment in the cruise
industry has helped generate a new regional economic development and
tourism business for the city and The Navy Yard,” said Peter
Longstreth, president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development
Corporation, the city’s primary economic development arm
assigned to the planning, development and management of The Navy Yard.
As it is ‘filling-up’
fast, the port has found ways to make parking, traffic control and
luggage handling more efficient. The first ship out for the season
April 24 faced no congestion or bottlenecks at Pier 1. According to
Nguyen, it was during the off-season that the port was able to work
out the traffic patterns and systems logistics. “The remote
parking and the trolley have eased flow in front of the
terminal,” she added.
Home-porting of cruises in Philly
will not necessarily mean Florida ports have suddenly a competition
up north. In terms of direct competitions, it will be the ports at
Baltimore, New York, Boston and Virginia. Not Florida.
Perhaps, the answers lie in the
hands of the decision-makers, the cruisers themselves, who have yet
to confirm if this trend is pirating ships from other states’
ports. Given the increase in fuel costs, it makes more sense
for ships to call at Florida than steam two days down the coast of
the US, said Visit Florida president and CEO Frank L. Nocera.
“There are more ships based out of Miami, West Palm Beach,
Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral than ever before in our history.”
More ships are being built, but
there is no such trend as cruises staying away from their traditional
Florida ports-of-call, he argued. After all, as bunker costs increase
with the cost of a barrel of oil, cruise lines prefer to be closer to
their destination ports. The Caribbean today offers the widest
variety at the most available ports at the most economical prices for
all cruise lines and passengers.
Following the Tourism 2020 Vision
global forecast by the World Tourism Organization, the Caribbean will
continue to be the most visited destination receiving over 50 percent
of passengers, followed by Alaska and the Mediterranean with around
10 percent each.
Based on the expectation showing
total number of cruisers worldwide expected to grow to 13.5 million
by 2005, it will be interesting to see how Philadelphia can sustain
the home-porting trend when the destination port in question is
Florida’s neighbor islands.
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