Barcelona Closes City Center Cruise Port

Europe’s busiest cruise port has officially closed the popular North Terminal at the World Trade Center, according to multiple news reports. Starting Oct. 22, 2023, all cruise ships must dock at the Moll d’Adossat pier and cruisers will need to take a shuttle bus to the city. Previously, cruisers on smaller ships docking at the World Trade Center terminal could walk about five minutes to the foot of Las Ramblas. 

At the same time, the city reduced the number of operative terminals at Adossat down to seven and introduced a one ship per terminal limit. As a result, no more than seven ships can be docked in the city going forward.

According to CNN, plans to move cruise ships away from the city center have been in the works since 2018 when the Barcelona port authorities and the Barcelona city council agreed to “move cruise activity away from urban areas… making them more sustainable.”

The switch from the World Trade Center pier to Adossat will not affect most mass market and premium cruisers. These cruise lines, such as Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and MSC Cruises, already use the Adossat pier.

The city plans to reclaim the World Trade Center cruise port and turn it into “new public spaces,” with the first spaces opening to the public in fall 2024.