With cruises it happens as with hotels: there are an infinite number of categories and the services, prices and users of one-star accommodation have little to do with that of five. But despite the usual prominence of floating macrocities for even more than 6,000 passengers, vacations at sea also offer a universe small and medium cruise ships (from barely a hundred travelers), whose clients represent one of the most desired segments of the tourism market. Barcelona not only is he Europe’s main cruise portbut in recent years it has been climbing positions in the attraction of luxury and premium boats: this year they have represented a third of those berthed at the Port docks, while next year they will reach a 38% of the total.
Obviously, in passengers its percentage is much less representative given the size, and cannot be calculated a priori because it will depend on the occupancy reached in each itinerary. But this ‘target’ turns out significant for logistical purposes, since for the city it is not the same to absorb the disembarkation of several mega-cruise ships at once, than to combine those of different sizes and profiles.
Throughout 2023, the Catalan capital is receiving many of the great innovations in the sector: from the recent Explora I (from Explora Journeys, the new luxury shipping company of the MSC group) to the innovative Silversea’s ‘Silver Nova’ that will overlook the local port on September 18, incorporating an asymmetrical design, the latest technology and many glass spaces, going through the brand new Oceania Vista, which a few days ago began a route in the city and stands out for having one of the best gastronomy on the high seas.
the fleet of high standing’ has not stopped growing since the pandemic, and according to data from the Port of Barcelona, Of the 66 new ships under construction that the shipyards will deliver to the shipping companies in five years (2023-2028), a total of 43 will be high-end.
A trip in the highest category usually costs more than 6,000 euros a week but has almost all the necessities on board included, as well as haute cuisine
These trips, which in Spain already had their best sales year in 2019, have grown substantially this year, he tells this newspaper. Juan Rodero, CEO of Star Class / A world of cruises, that sells throughout Spain and Portugal 14 top-tier cruise companies. “There is much more demand and more and more supply, because this segment has expanded fleets and invested in improvements”, as in the case of the prestigious Crystal Cruises, reborn with a new ownership group, and one of whose two ships will visit Barcelona on the 19th. September, after a set-up of 100 million dollars (91.5 million euros). And because the sector is experiencing a ‘boom’ of small expedition ships that allow you to reach remote places.
Although this type of cruise is characterized by calling at small, exclusive and little-exploited ports, it always includes a large city, both for its international appeal and for its supply and for the good air connections that allow them to start journeys in cities like Barcelona. If in 2019 (before the tourist break due to the pandemic), Premium and luxury category ships accounted for 26% of the calls in the city, this year they already account for 33%, while in 2024 –with new additions– will be 38%, according to data from the Port. If the count sticks to luxury (ships that usually do not exceed a thousand passengers and can cost from a few 6,000 euros per person per week), next year they will represent andl 23% of the offer. In these the crew to passenger ratio is increased, and there are many more features included.
The president of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, describes this segment as “the client who would want any destination”. The reasons are multiple: luxury ships tend to make longer stopovers in ports, they hire many personalized excursions or in small groups that go almost unnoticed, they use individual transport with a guide and when they start or finish routes in the city they stay in the best hotels. They cannot have Barcelona as a base port (entry and exit) because their routes are not regular or repeated, so users can even link several different ones Without forgetting that luxury boats they can afford to spend the night on the city docks, promoting more hours of stopover and greater economic impact, adds Rodero.
The accommodations attest to the importance of this guest. One of the favorites of the shipping companies is Le Méridien, a five-star hotel, due to its location at the foot of the Ramblas and close to the port. Hotel sources point out that this is a normally older client, with high purchasing power, very interested in culture, in getting to know “the local haute cuisine” and “high-end shopping”, they usually stay one or two nights before or after the crossing.
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At the Majestic Hotel & Spa, on Passeig de Gràcia, they underline that the interests of these traveler profiles -with special weight also from Americans- make it possible to offer very specific and identitary proposals for the city. Like their ‘Made in Barcelona’ program that includes visits to artisan workshops where they can even buy personalized items made in the Catalan capital. Or à la carte excursions to the outskirts of the city. In Monument Barcelona, in the same area, the weight of the gastronomic pull is evident. Most of the guests who will travel on luxury cruises reserve a table in advance to enjoy Lasarte, its three Michelin stars, they say.
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The same thing happens with purchases, points out Luis Sans, president of the Passeig de Gràcia Association, where their currencies leave their mark. But beyond billing, he emphasizes that the boom in these trips has propelled the offer of intercontinental flights. “They generate an entire ecosystem” that encompasses the projection of the city and businesses, he points out.
In this sense, the CEO of Star Class reveals that the America’s Cup of Sailing in 2024 will attract many Americans who will take the opportunity to link the sporting event with a cruise. the payroll of luxury super cruises in Barcelona (of the shipping companies Regent, Seabourn, Le Ponant and others) has grown fat with the arrival on the scene of luxury hotel groups that landed in this market, as is the case of the Ritz Cartlon Yacht Club Collection, whose new hyper-luxury cruise Evrima will be at the Port on October 22. In a couple of years, it will be joined by the Four Seasons. Both will attract new cruise passengers who until now did not sail but were clients of their valued hotels. Without forgetting the rise of the level Premium –where Celebrity Cruises, Holland America, Princess and Cunard, among others, are lined up– which are also gaining ground among cruise passengers who start with more popular options and want to go up a notch in service and gastronomy.