Cruise ships

Cruise passengers’ gateway to the Costa Daurada

The archaeological remains of ancient Roman Tarraco, a World Heritage Site since 2000, is recognized internationally by UNESCO, which recently declared it a site of Outstanding Universal Value, the highest category attainable. What’s more, the area is home to the Monastery of Poblet, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ebro Delta, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and human towers and Mediterranean cuisine, declared UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In addition, Reus, the hometown of the renowned architect Gaudi, offers visitors exquisite examples of Catalan Modernism, while PortAventura World, with three of Europe’s leading theme parks, is a guaranteed fun-filled experience for guests of all ages. Without forgetting its beaches, such as La Pineda in Vila-seca. The region is also home to producers of outstanding wines and cavas.

Cruise Terminal Global Ports-Port Tarragona

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Digital book

A Port that is prepared

Good infrastructure and operations specialising in the arrival and departure of the cruise ships; ease of access and communication between the terminal, the city and the rest of the area, and a wide range of added value services, characterise the stay in our Port and in our city.

A dock exclusively for cruise ships

Passenger terminal

Attractive discounts on Port tariffs

Exclusive access via the outer Port

Available moorings

Easy mooring operations

Quick and easy administrative procedures

Parking and waiting area for buses

Free tourist information on board or at the terminal

Possibility of a shuttle to the city centre

Transverse commitment

In 2013 the cruise project went from being something purely concerning the port, and evolved into a strategy for the whole area. The cruise board was set up, led by the Port of Tarragona and made up of all the parties involved in the arrival and consolidation of the cruise industry:

Port Tarragona

Patronat de Turisme de la Costa Daurada

Patronat de Turisme de l'Ajuntament de Tarragona

Patronat de Turisme de l'Ajuntament de Reus

Patronat de Turisme de l'Ajuntament de Vila-seca

Cambra de Comerç Indústria i Navegació de Tarragona

PortAventura World

Global Ports Holding

FEHT (Federació d'Empresaris i Hostelers de Tarragona)

Universitat Rovira i Virgili - EURECAT

AEHT

Direcció General de Turisme

Aeroport de Reus

The Tarragona Cruise Port Costa Daurada brand was set up in 2013.

Moll Balears Infrastructures

Infrastructures

Descarrega

Contact

Commercial and Business Development Office

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+34 977 259 400 | Ext. 1336

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Views of the Balears Wharf built in 17 months at a cost of 30 million euros and inaugurated on 29 October 2021.

The last pictures correspond to the new terminal to be built by Global Ports Holding, operator of the world's largest cruise ships. It is an innovative, sustainable and efficient state-of-the-art terminal with an investment of 5.5 million euros and was inaugurated last spring 2024.

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TARRAGONA CRUISE PORT

Tarragona Cruise Port Terminal

All the information about the cruise sector in Tarragona, a city that is attractive to shipping companies, due to the infrastructure of the Port, and the cultural and tourist attractions offered by the area, which gives it the character of a unique destination.

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Forecasts
Balears Wharf construction

Forecasts

Forecast of arrival of cruises at Tarragona at the 2025

Download - Latest Update 2025 March

Call Score

93% of cruise passengers ensure that Tarragona stopover has exceeded their expectations.

93%

Tarragona Tour

Visitors score the Tarragona tourist tour
with a 9 out of 10.

9/10

Balears Wharf construction

October 29th, 2021 - Moll Balears of Port Tarragona Inauguration

PORT TARRAGONA - INAUGURATION MOLL BALEARS

Press

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Josep Maria Cruset announces that the new terminal will surpass the 128,000 passengers of 2019 in two years

More than 30 million euros has been invested in the development of this new infrastructure

Construction of the new wharf was completed in eighteen months

PORT TARRAGONA - MOLL BALEARS - CONSTRUCTION PHASES

PORT TARRAGONA - MOLL BALEARS - CRUISE ACTIVITY

PORT TARRAGONA - MOLL BALEARS - COSTA DAURADA DESTINATION

Photo gallery | Moll Balears Inauguration October 29th, 2021

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.porttarragona.cat/en/services-business/business/traffic-type/cruise-ships#sigProId5ac83d06a7

The construction of the new Balears Wharf will transform the face of the Port of Tarragona

The first phase of this new infrastructure will adjoin the Llevant breakwater and will be 460 metres long with a 4-hectare esplanade

Work on the new Balears Wharf is entering a decisive phase and over the next fourteen months it will transform the face of the Port of Tarragona. This new infrastructure will substantially change the area on the Llevant breakwater used for docking cruise ships, as it will be 460 metres long and have an area of 4 hectares.

The total length of the mooring line will be 700 metres as it will be possible to dock on both sides of 240 of those 460 metres. This means that twice the number of vessels will be able to tie up at the same time and also that the world’s largest cruise ships will now be able to call at Tarragona.

The construction of the wharf –at a cost of more than 27 million euros (+ IVA)– began officially last 17 April with the signing of the restatement ceremony. It will take 14 months and has a completion date of mid-2021.

In the future, the new infrastructure could also be opened up to solid bulk and multipurpose terminal services.

A new wharf in 10 phases and 14 months

Construction of the Balears Wharf began last April and take 14 months, after which the new installation will come into operation.

First Phase. Reception of the “Mar del Aneto” floating dock, also known as the frame, installed on the Andalusia Wharf. Its function is the construction of the caissons or concrete foundations to be used to build the new Balears Wharf.

This type of platform is used in ports to build wharfs, breakwaters and other port infrastructures. The caisson technology notably reduces the environmental impact compared to other more traditional methods; it also considerably shortens the execution time and is well-suited to the characteristics of the Port of Tarragona.

This first phase begins by setting up the anti-turbidity barrier on the water and removing the part of the breakwater where the new section will be built. The “Mar del Aneto” floating dock will be moved to the Catalunya Wharf and finally the sea bed will be dredged and levelled out.

PHASE 1 - PHOTOS

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.porttarragona.cat/en/services-business/business/traffic-type/cruise-ships#sigProId4dd4b6c9e1

Second Phase. The dredging is completed and work begins on laying the material for the breakwater from the barge.

BREAKWATERS
1,232,000 tons of material are expected to be laid for the breakwaters

Third Phase. Completion of the laying of the breakwater material by sea, followed immediately by levelling for the caisson placement. Caisson manufacture begins on the Catalunya Wharf and work begins on building the first section of the southern breakwater using sea and land resources.

DIMENSIONS OF THE 11 CAISSONS
Length: 41.05 m; width: 16.75; height 21.30 m
Weight of an empty caisson: 7,288.80 tons | Weight of a full caisson: 33,440.65 tons

Fourth Phase. Anchoring and placement of the first caissons and completion of the work using land resources on the northern breakwater.

Fifth Phase. Completion of the placement of the caissons.

REINFORCEMENT STEEL
3.2 million kg of steel will be used for a cantilever beam and for caissons
Caissons 3,042,131.51 kg | Cantilever beam 131,766.54 kg

Sixth Phase. Completion of the southern breakwater. The interior cells of the caissons are filled with stone from the land and the breakwater caissons are joined using terrestrial resources.

Seventh Phase. Completion of the northern breakwater. In parallel, the construction of the cantilever beam begins and the wharf is filled with rubble using a suction dredger with a cutter.

DREDGING
The project calls for the extraction of more than 729,000 m3 of material from the sea bed of which almost 500,000 m3 will be used as fill for the wharf

Eighth Phase. The wharf begins to take on an identifiable and visible shape. Placement of the bollards and defences begins at the same time as work starts on surfacing the wharf and the esplanade.

Ninth Phase. At this point the wharf is practically completed. The cantilever beam is completed with defences and bollards. The wharf is fully surfaced and the esplanade is partially surfaced.

BOLLARDS
Thirty-three 200-ton nominal TIR bollards are placed
Sufficient for mooring the largest cruise ships in the world

Tenth Phase. After 14 months the wharf is operative.

Environmental Protection Plan

The Port of Tarragona has incorporated voluntary environmental measures into the Balears Wharf project to reduce and guarantee minimal impact of the building work on the environment. It has designed an Environmental Protection Plan to control the actions during the execution of the construction work. It also has an environmental monitoring procedure that it applies systematically to all the building projects carried out by the Port of Tarragona.