There will be six ships calling for the first time this year, including MSC Cruises’ MSC Lirica, Windstar Cruises' Wind Surf, Star Clippers’ Star Flyer and Phoenix Reisen’s Amadea and Albatros. There will also be repeaters, such as AIDA Cruises, which has chosen to call the Belgian port for more than three years, according to Kattina Glasinovich, cruise manager Antwerp Cruise Port.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is also a regular visitor and comes with Black Watch and Balmoral this year. Its Christmas calls are extending the season into December.
In 2003 the port invested in a cruise terminal in order to be able to handle 1,500 passengers at once. There is an annex for luggage handling. Coach parking was extended in 2004.
The original building of Red Star Line - which carried 2.6m Europeans to the US from Antwerp between 1874 and 1935 - is being renovated to house a museum (Red Star Line Museum) which will be opened in September 2013.
The city is collaborating with Ellis Island, New York: “We are trying to implement the same type of centre where visitors can look up which ship their relatives travelled on. It is a life-changing story for many people,” commented Glasinovich.
Source: cruiseeurope.com
