Marina Bay Cruise Centre's capacity leaps to ll,700 passengers after $40m facelift

As the cruise season begins, passengers can look forward to new amenities at the upgraded Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS), including a new check-in hall with 70 counters and a ground transport area with dedicated lanes for coaches, taxis and ride-hailing services.

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

A $40 million facelift of the facility was completed in October, boosting the cruise centre’s capacity from 6,800 to 1,700 passengers.

The upgrade was carried out to help the cruise terminal meet growing demand for cruise travel, said operator Sats-Creuers Cruise Services and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Oct 29.

MBCCS has reorganised passenger flows to efficiently manage simultaneous dual mega ship calls, they added.

At a media tour on Oct 23, operations manager Christopher Benedict Charlie said that with the upgrade, the 36,000 sq m terminal - the size of five football fields — can handle bigger ships with more passengers.

“Ships are getting bigger,’ said Mr Charlie, with some carrying over 5,000 people.

The additional check-in hall has eased congestion and streamlined processes, especially when two ships arrive together, he added.

The new check-in hall on level 1 serving Pier 2 features 70 counters and over 500 seats, plus a VIP lounge. The existing Level 2 check-in hall serving Pier 1 has 135 check-in counters and about 2,000 seats.

The new ground transport area (GTA) improves accessibility to the terminal, with widened roadways leading to MBCCS.

It also has 29 coach bays and an early baggage drop-off point, allowing bags to go directly to the ship. This helps travellers move through the terminal more quickly, Mr Charlie said.

A buggy service is on standby to help passengers with reduced mobility get from the GTA to the check-in halls.