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Tarragona (Spain Costa Daurada)

Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news

Rating:
Tarragona cruise port

Region
Mediterranean - Black Sea

Local Time
2024-11-22 14:44

min: 44 °F (6 °C) / max: 62 °F (17 °C) 59°F
15.2°C
Wind: 305°/ 10.1 m/s Gust: 9.9 m/sWind: 305°/ 10.1 m/s Gust: 9.9 m/sFresh breeze
10.1 m/s
Min / Max Temperature62 °F / 17 °C
44 °F / 7 °C
  Port Map

Port Tarragona cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Tarragona, Spain Costa Daurada. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.

DayShipArrivalDeparture
3 November, 2024
Sunday
CroisiEurope Cruises cruise linems La Belle des Oceans08:0018:00
4 November, 2024
Monday
Windstar Cruises Cruises cruise lineWind Spirit07:0017:00
5 November, 2024
Tuesday
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Cruises cruise lineFred Olsen Borealis
15 November, 2024
Friday
MSC Cruises Cruises cruise lineMSC Poesia09:0018:00

Tarragona is a port city located on Catalonia's Costa Daurada (northeastern Spain's coast, Mediterranean Sea) with population around 132,000. Costa Daurada ("Golden Coast") is named for the color of the sand when the sun is shining. Spain's Golden Coast is the area between Cunit (Baix Penedes) and Alcanar (Montsia).

Before the COVID crisis, in 2019, the Port (locode ESTAR) handled 63 cruise ship calls and ~128,000 passengers. Following the global crisis, in 2022 (April-November) the Port received ~70,000 cruise tourists (35 ship calls) arriving mainly on big-capacity liners from the fleets of major cruise companies like MSC, Costa, RCI-Royal Caribbean, Marella UK. Tarragona is also visited by smaller-sized ships and superyachts of ultra-premium travel brands like Windstar, Hapag-Lloyd, Phoenix Reisen, SeaDream.

For season 2023 (April-December), the Port had booked 55 cruise ship calls with estimated ~98,000 passengers.

In 2017, Port Tarragona and one of Europe's largest passenger shipping companies - Costa Cruises, signed a deal for homeporting here the 1700-passenger ship Costa neoRiviera in the period June 2 through September 22, 2017.

The seaport's proximity to Barcelona and the myriad of tourist attractions in and around the city make Tarragona an attractive and cheap homeport / departure port for Costa Crociere. The scheduled weekly departures plus 2 additional ship calls (by the 3780-passenger Costa Favolosa) resulted in ~470,00 cruise tourists to the port in season 2017. neoRiviera's departures were scheduled for the Fridays. The ship's Mediterranean itinerary included Savona, Porto Torres (Sardinia Island), Port Mahon (Menorca Island), Ibiza Island, Formentera Island and Palma de Mallorca (Majorca Island) on 7-day roundtrips from Tarragona.

In 2016, the cruise port handled 22 ship calls (100% increase over 2015). For season 2018, the port had booked 50 ship calls. In the period 2013-2019, the cruise port handled a total of 305,888 tourists.

Tarragona is in the western Mediterranean, southwest of Barcelona (~1-hour drive distance from Barcelona Airport). The city's archaeological museum has an exclusive collection of Roman statues. The remains of defensive walls and a Roman amphitheater are also in downtown, and a 2-tiered Roman aqueduct is close by. The 12th-century-built Tarragona Cathedral is famous for its Gothic facade. In close proximity to the city are the famous Costa Dorado beaches, the Salou Park Resort and PortAventura World (entertainment resort and an amusement park, one of Europe's largest).

Tarragona is home to a comparatively large seaport and the internationally recognized Rovira i Virgili University. Much of the city's economy is based on chemical industries (situated to the south) and tourism. Among the most popular annual events that attract thousands of international and domestic tourists is the Santa Tecla Festival. In downtown can be found numerous small restaurants, live-music bars, cosy cafes (serving sandwiches, tapas, local seafood, traditional Catalonian dishes). El Serrallo's neighborhood (at the harbor) is specialized in seafood cuisine.

On December 3, 2021, was officially inaugurated the new cruise ship berth Balears Wharf. The special ceremony was attended by Pau Ricoma (Tarragona's Mayor), Francisco Toledo (State Ports Authority's President), Josep Maria Cruset (Port Tarragona's President), Jordi Puignero (Catalonia's Vice-President and Minister of Digital Policies and Public Administration), Teresa Cunillera (Delegate of the Spanish Government in Catalonia).

In February 2022, Tarragona Port Authority signed with GPH-Global Ports Holding Plc a 12-year concession deal, (with an optional 6-year extension) to manage the port's cruise services. Under the Global Ports-Tarragona contract's terms, GPH invested EUR 5,5 million (USD 6,3M) into building a new cruise terminal with dedicated bus parking and car parking areas. Tarragona Terminal's construction officially started on June 12, 2023. As of 2022, GPH (the world's largest cruise port management company) operates/manages 23 seaports.

In January 2023, Tarragona Cruise Port signed a homeporting agreement with MSC for a total of 26 roundtrips from Tarragona (embarkation/debarkation port) scheduled in 2023 for MSC Magnifica. The 7-day roundtrip itinerary from Tarragona visited France (Toulon), Italy (Genoa, Civitavecchia/Rome, Livorno/Florence-Pisa), and Spain (Valencia).

Tarragona cruise terminal

Construction works on the new cruise ship berth "Balears Wharf" at Port Tarragona started in 2020 (on April 17th), and were completed in 14 months (inaugurated on December 3, 2021).

The new infrastructure substantially changed Llevant's breakwater area, which was previously used for cruise ship docking.

 

The first cruise ship that docked at the Balears Wharf was MS Europa (Hapag-Lloyd) - on October 29, 2021.

By the EUR 27 million (~USD 30,4 million) project, the area was expanded to 4 hectares (10 acres / 40,000 m2. The new cruise berth (concrete structure) has length 460 m (1510 ft) which combined with the mooring line (berthing dolphins) of 700 m (2297 ft). This allows the port to handle even the world's largest cruise liners. The vessels are now able to dock on the wharf's both sides, which doubles the cruise port's capacity.

The new ship docking infrastructure is also opened up to cargo ships (solid bulk carriers) and doubles as a multipurpose terminal. With the Balears Wharf, the ferry and cruise port now has total mooring line (docking space) of 700 m (2300 ft).

In December 2020 were completed the works on the second connection between Llevant Breakwater and Balears Wharf's caissons (11 concrete foundations) and the project continued with its dredging phase. The connection (an overland link between the new berth's two sides) allowed the caissons to be filled with truck-transported material as well as the building of the extrados with a rear stone embankment. Balears Wharf's interior was later filled with material dredged from the sea area between the port's wharves Cantabria and Andalusia, which additionally increased the berths' dockside depths.

Before the dredging, pipes were also installed under the Wharf to prevent fish from trapping in the enclosure formed by the caissons, the two rockfills and the breakwater. Port Tarragona is also planning to install shoreside power capabilities in order to supply the docked at Balears Wharf ships with city-grid electricity thus saving fuel and reducing air pollution in port.

In June 2021 was completed the outer wharf's edge beam (460 m) and started the construction of the inner wharf's edge beam (270 m). On the concrete edge beam bears the weight of the ships moored to its bollards (sturdy vertical posts for the mooring lines/ropes).

(NEW) Tarragona Cruise Terminal

In October 2021 was approved a tender process for the construction and concession of a new cruise terminal at Balears Wharf. The new facility was to be sized minimum 5900 m2 (63500 ft2) and to be operated under a 12-year concession (starting March 2022).

In February 2022, Tarragona Port Authority signed with GPH-Global Ports Holding Plc a 12-year concession deal, (with an optional 6-year extension) to manage the Port's cruise services. Under the Global Ports-Tarragona contract's terms, GPH invested EUR 5,5 million (USD 6,3M) into building a new cruise terminal with dedicated bus parking and car parking areas.

The facility (inaugurated in June 2024) utilizes solar power (for its energy needs) and provides retail shopping and food and beverage opportunities. The Terminal's modular design provides flexibility for adapting the facility for future expansions. During no-ship days, the new terminal doubles as event space, hosting concerts, art exhibitions, conferences, etc.

Tarragona Cruise Terminal's construction officially started on June 12, 2023.

The cruise port's plans include a EUR 0,7 million project to develop Balears Wharf's logistics zone that features a 2,2 km long (esplanade (waterfront promenade). The tourist enhancements include pedestrian pavements, traffic flow, parking areas, bus stops, as well as environmentally friendly features like pergolas/shaded walkways with roof solar panels and LED lighting, landscaped areas with low water consumption plants, parking zones with surface drainage systems (for the rainwater), and vertical signage.

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