St. Petersburg Photo (c) Linda Garrison
The new passenger port in St. Petersburg is the first in Russia that is able to accommodate the latest generation of cruise ships, whose length exceeds 300 meters. Situated on the western side of Vasiljevskiy Island, it is near the old town and a convenient gateway to the main attractions of the city. The project will occupy a total area of 400 hectares and entails several stages of development, with work scheduled for completion by 2010. Upon its completion, the new passenger Port of St. Petersburg will become the largest cruise and ferry industry project in the world. By the time it is finished, the port will have seven berths, three cruise terminals and one ferry terminal. The new port's capacity will be 12,000 passengers a day and 1.2 million passengers a year.
For the time being, one cruise terminal and two 300-meter berths are operating. The project will also incorporate business centers, exhibition halls, "A" class residential development and other facilities that will dramatically change the view of the St. Petersburg waterfront. St. Petersburg is Russia's busiest cruise port and one of the main cruise destinations in Northern Europe. The number of cruisers has increased from 163,000 in 2003 to an estimated 400,000 in 2008. The first foreign civilian ship, a Dutch vessel, arrived in St. Petersburg 305 years ago in the fall of 1703. By receiving the first foreign vessel, St. Petersburg fulfilled the mission defined by its founder, Emperor Peter the Great, "to open sea gates to Europe."
Costa's ships first sailed to St. Petersburg back in the early 1970s, with North Sea cruises on the "Federico C" and on Costa's historic flagship "Eugenio C." Today, Costa Cruises brings both the largest number of ships and the number of cruise passengers to the Russian port. This year, Costa's ships will make a total of 28 calls in St. Petersburg, bringing about 50,000 cruisers and accounting for around 12 percent of the port's total cruise passenger traffic. Direct expenditure by Costa in St. Petersburg in 2008 amounts to some 8 million euros. There are four Costa vessels that have been deployed in St. Petersburg in 2008 – the Costa Mediterranea, Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria and Costa Marina. In 2009, the new Costa Luminosa, the finest and most exclusive ship in the Costa fleet (due to enter service in May 2009) will call on St. Petersburg along with the Costa Mediterranea, Costa Atlantica and Costa Magica. The Costa Luminosa, Costa Mediterranea and Costa Magica will offer new, exclusive itineraries to the Baltic cities, including an overnight stay in St. Petersburg.
Costa has marketed cruises in Russia since 2003, through two of the main local tour operators, Natalie Tours and the Neptune Cruise Center. Over the last five years the number of Russian guests who sailed with Costa increased four-fold. Since 2007, Costa Cruises has given its Russian guests the option of embarking and disembarking in the Port of St. Petersburg on summer cruises in the Baltic Sea and to the Norwegian fjords. In addition to Northern Europe, preferred destinations of Russian guests are winter cruises in the Mediterranean and to the Canary Islands, summer cruises in the Western Mediterranean, and winter cruises from Dubai.
For reservations or more information, contact a travel agent, call (800) GO-COSTA or visit www.costacruises.com.