Lack of large cruise ship facilities impacts hard on Falmouth’s cruise tourism

Further delays to the long awaited dredging of a new deeper approach channel to the UK’s south west port of Falmouth and construction of a dedicated cruise terminal for large ships is impacting hard on the local cruise tourism industry. 

Plans to increase the size of cruise ships calling at the Cornish port of Falmouth have been under discussion for the past 10 years, but its seems that we are still a long way off seeing Mega cruise ships regularly calling at the port.  The main stumbling block is the question of money, or more exactly, who is going to fund the cost of dredging a new deepwater approach channel (9.5m below Chart Datum) to Falmouth Docks to allow for vessels up to the size of RCCL’s Freedom of the Seas-class to berth alongside.

Costs for the capital dredging programme have now rocketed to £22m due to the high cost of the environmental disposal of hazardous materials.  A further £7m will then be needed to build a dedicated cruise terminal.

Already a number of leading operators have told the port that they will not be bringing large vessels to the port until they can berth alongside, although they regard Falmouth and the surrounding area as one of the best cruise calls in the UK. 

Falmouth’s 2009 cruise season ended on 24 September with the call by Peter Deilmann’s 548 passenger capacity Deutschland. This year saw 33 cruise calls at the Cornish port, but only four large ship calls: Princess Cruises 2,600 passenger capacity 290m Grand Princess,  P&O Cruises’ 1,950 passenger capacity, 261m Oceana (twice), and NCL’s 2,466 passenger capacity, 294m Norwegian Jade.  All four vessels had to anchor in Falmouth Bay and transfer passengers ashore by tender.

In 2010 Falmouth will receive just 24 cruise calls, with only three large ships: two calls by Grand Princess and one by TUI Cruises’ 1,948 passenger capacity, 263m Mein Schiff (ex Celebrity Galaxy).  In 2006 Falmouth received 60 cruise calls.

Falmouth has already been told by RCI, Holland America and Celebrity that they won’t be bringing large vessels to the port until it has adequate alongside facilities for Mega ships.  It’s not that these lines don’t like Falmouth, far from it. Holland America Line’s Capt Simon Douwes, director of development and itinerary planning has said that Falmouth is the most popular port of call in the UK for American passengers, in a survey carried out by HAL.

This year HAL’s 790 passenger capacity, 204m Prinsendam made one call at Falmouth, berthing at the port’s County jetty. The same vessel will make two calls in 2010, in June and September.

German operators, meanwhile, continue to add Falmouth to their schedules.  This year saw 11 calls by German operated vessels: Transocean Tours’ 590 passenger capacity Astor (twice), AIDA Cruises’ 1,180 passenger capacity AIDAcara (three calls), Delphin Seereisen’s 466 passenger capacity Delphin and 650 passenger capacity Delphin Voyager, Hapag Lloyd Cruises’ 408 passenger capacity Europa, Mona Lisa, Phoenix Reisen’s 884 passenger capacity Albatros and Peter Deilmann’s Deutschland. 

For 2010 a further 11 calls are scheduled by German cruise ships, including TUI’s Mein Schiff, four calls by AIDA Cruises’ 1,266 passenger capacity AIDAaura, three calls by Deilmann’s Deutschland, and one call each by Mona Lisa, Delphin and Europa.

Both Falmouth Harbour Commissioners and A&P Falmouth, the latter runs the commercial port, have submitted the dredging and wharf building consents to the UK Marine Fisheries Agency, which in turn will take advice from English Nature and other bodies wishing to  object or comment on the dredging scheme.  It is hoped that the green light for the dredging programme and shore side terminal will be approved by the summer of 2010 and funding in place for the six month project by the end of 2010.