Saint-Nazaire (France)
Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news
Region
Western Europe - Azores - Canary Islands
Local Time
2023-06-06 15:34
23.9°C
5 m/s
58 °F / 15 °C
Saint-Nazaire is an Atlantic port city in Loire-Atlantique (Brittany, western France). Port St-Nazaire has a large harbor waterway, located on Loire River estuary's right bank and close to the Atlantic Ocean. The city covers a total area of approx 47 km2 (18 mi2). and has population around 70,000.
Port St Nazaire (locode FRSNR) has a deepwater harbor and is managed by Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port Authority. Its close proximity to Nantes makes it a preferable port of call for big cruise liners visiting France. The town is located to the south of France's second-largest swamp ("la Briere"). Given its location, St Nazaire has long traditions of commercial fishing and shipbuilding.
Chantiers de l'Atlantique (fka STX France) is one of the world's largest shipyards. Here, among many other cruise vessels, were constructed the iconic liners RMS Queen Mary 2 (operator Cunard, owner Carnival Corporation) and Harmony of the Seas (operator RCI-Royal Caribbean) - one of the world's top-5 largest passenger ship ever built.
The small village developed quickly into a large town in the 19th-century's second half. The growth was due to the seaport's development and construction of connecting railways. St Nazaire increasingly replaced Nantes. Being an important naval base for the Nazis, during WW2 (1939-45) the town was heavily bombed by the British in 1942. Until 1945, it was also heavily bombed by the Allies (Great Britain and the USA) as one of Europe's last territories liberated from Nazi Germany (on May 11, 1945).
Port's largest liner so far is Marella Cruises ship Marella Discovery which docked here in May 2018.
In 2017, the cruise port received 12 ship calls and ~9000 passengers.
In 2018, the port handled a total of 8 cruise ship calls and ~5500 tourists.
Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard St Nazaire (STX France)
St nazaire's Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard is currently part of the shipbuilding corporation STX France. Most of this business (66,6%) is owned by STX Europe (former Aker Yards). The balance 33,34% stake is state-owned (by France). Being one of the world's biggest shipbuilders, Chantiers de l'Atlantique constructs a wide range of marine vessels - passenger, commercial and naval/warships.
The shipyard was acquired by Aker Aker Group in 2006. STX Corporation (South Korea/1976-founded) acquired Aker Yards in 2008 and Chantiers de l'Atlantique became part of STX Europe. The company STX Europe (2004-founded as "Aker Yards Oy", renamed in 2008, Oslo Norway-headquartered) operates over a dozen large shipyards located in South America (Brazil), Asia (Vietnam) and Europe (STX France, Norway, Romania).
Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard is preferred for large cruise shipbuilding projects mainly due to its know-how, but also for its convenient location at Loire River's mouth and the Atlantic's deep waters.
In the mid-20th century, Chantiers de l'Atlantique started building French-flagged Transatlantic ocean liners for passenger and cargo transportation between Europe and America. Its first vessel was the famous SS France (1961-launched) - then the world's largest passenger ship. The yard's expansion included building a large drydock facility (Basin C), which was purposefully constructed for large vessels.
The first cruise liners were ordered by Holland America Line - ms Noordam (1983-launched/link to the 2006-built ship) and ms Nieuw Amsterdam (1984-launched/link to the 2010-built ship). The yard's first Royal Caribbean ship was Sovereign of the Seas (1987-launched) - the world's largest passenger liner at the time.
In July 2017 started a project that expanded the pre-assembly area by 17,000 m2 (183,000 ft2), or around 30%. The EUR 30 million project was completed in late-November 2018. Following the expansion, now the shipyard can move simultaneously 22 mega-blocks (16 previously). The project also included lengthening the rail track (by 135 m / 443 ft) of the 1400-ton gantry crane. This allows 6 more cruise ship blocks to be assembled simultaneously.
On February 2, 2018, Fincantieri signed with STX France a share purchase agreement for 50% of the shipyard's stock capital (valued EUR 59,7 million) previously owned by France (via the Government agency APE). Following this deal, STX France's stockholding structure is Fincantieri (50% plus 1% borrowed from APE), France (34,34% via APE, of which 1% lent to Fincantieri), Naval Group (10%), employees (2,40%), French companies (3,26%).
In 2019, the shipyard inaugurated a training facility (named L'Ecole / The School) that offers courses in metal works, welding, pipefitting, carpentering. The new 450 m2 sized school was designed to provide training and skills to both current and new employees. Around 80% of the training is practical, with classes led by shipyard's professional workers.
In 2022 was installed the shipyard's new 1440-ton gantry crane with lifting capacity 1050 tonnes. The new crane replaced the old (1968-built) 750-ton crane which was dismantled in 2021-Q3. The new EUR 30-million crane was first used for Celebrity Ascent's construction.
Saint-Nazaire cruise terminal
There are plans for building a floating pier (with capacity to handle larger-sized cruise vessels), with completion by 2022-23.
CruiseMapper's list of cruise ships built in St Nazaire (in and after the year 2000) includes:
- Azamara Onward (1999), Azamara Journey (2000), Azamara Quest (2000), Azamara Pursuit (2001)
- Celebrity Edge (2018), Celebrity Apex (2020), Celebrity Beyond (2022), Celebrity Ascent (2023) - fleet's largest
- Celebrity Constellation (2002), Celebrity Infinity (2001), Celebrity Millennium (2000), Celebrity Summit (2001)
- Crystal Serenity (2003)
- RMS Queen Mary 2 (2004)
- MSC Armonia (2001), MSC Sinfonia (2002), MSC Lirica (2003), MSC Opera (2004)
- MSC Musica (2006), MSC Orchestra (2007), MSC Poesia (2008), MSC Magnifica (2010)
- MSC Fantasia (2008), MSC Splendida (2009), MSC Divina (2012), MSC Preziosa (2013)
- MSC Meraviglia (2017), MSC Bellissima (2019)
- MSC Grandiosa (2019), MSC Virtuosa (2021), MSC Euribia (2023)
- MSC World Europa (2022), MSC World America (2025) - fleet's largest
- Norwegian Epic (2010)
- Oceania Nautica (2000)
- Coral Princess (2002)
- Island Princess (2003)
- Seven Seas Mariner (2001)
- Harmony Of The Seas (2016), Symphony Of The Seas (2018) - world's largest
- ms Europa 2 (2013)
- Ritz-Carlton's superyachts Ilma (2024) and Luminara (2025)
- CroisiEurope's paddlewheel riverboats Loire Princesse (2014), Elbe Princesse (2016), Elbe Princesse 2 (2018)
The list of shipowners of vessels constructed by STX Fra nce includes:
- Azamara
- Celebrity
- Cunard UK
- MSC
- RCI-Royal Caribbean International
- Princess
- NCL-Norwegian
- P&O UK
- Oceania
- Crystal
- RSSC-Regent Seven Seas
- HL-Hapag Lloyd
- Ritz-Carlton
- CroisiEurope (riverboats)
The following CruiseMapper links are for all our news related to STX France/Chantiers de l'Atlantique and shipbuilding in general.
Other related CruiseMapper pages are themed on cruise ship design-construction-shipbuilders and newest cruise ships (on order / under construction).
Port Saint-Nazaire 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 Saint-Nazaire, France. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.
Day | Ship | Arrival | Departure |
---|---|---|---|
3 April, 2023 Monday | ![]() | 18:00 | 03:00 |
7 April, 2023 Friday | ![]() | 18:00 | 03:00 |
17 April, 2023 Monday | ![]() | 18:00 | 03:00 |
22 April, 2023 Saturday | ![]() | 18:00 | 03:00 |
- Cruise Industry
MSC's newest cruise ship MSC Euribia delivered by STX France
On May 31st, 2023, the Cruise Division of MSC Group's subsidiary MSC Cruises and STX France (Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire...
June 2, 2023 - Cruise Industry
MSC World America cruise ship's construction started at STX France
MSC Cruises held the keel-laying/aka coin ceremony for MSC World America. This ceremony - which marks the start of the vessel's physical...
June 1, 2023 - Cruise Industry
MSC Cruises to operate industry’s first net zero greenhouse gas emissions sailing
Next week, MSC Group's Cruise Division will make history by operating the industry's first voyage with net zero greenhouse gas emissions. This...
May 26, 2023 - Cruise Industry
MSC Cruises’ second LNG-powered ship MSC Euribia successfully completes sea trials
MSC Euribia, MSC's second LNG-powered ship, has completed a successful 4-day trial in the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) for deepwater intensive...
April 25, 2023 - Accidents
Sea trials for MSC Euribia delayed due to union strikes in French ports
The first sea trials for MSC Cruises' newest ship MSC Euribia, currently under construction in Saint-Nazaire (France), were delayed due to union...
March 23, 2023 - Cruise Industry
Keel laid for Ritz-Carlton's second ship Ilma
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection celebrated a milestone at the keel-laying ceremony held on March 22nd at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique...
March 23, 2023 - Cruise Industry
Ritz-Carlton opens bookings for its second superyacht Ilma
The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection announced it will soon open reservations for the fleet's newest cruise ship - Ilma. In 2022, the new cruise...
February 14, 2023 - Cruise Industry
Celebrity Cruises’ 4th EDGE-class ship Ascent floated out at STX France
The newest ship for Celebrity Cruises - Celebrity Ascent, is a step closer to joining the fleet. On Saturday, January 21st, Celebrity announced that...
January 22, 2023 - Cruise Industry
Hotel giant Accor to launch the world's largest luxury sailing ship Orient Express
Hotel giant Accor SA will enter the luxury cruise market with the debut of the largest sailing ship in the world. 140+ years after the original...
January 13, 2023 - Cruise Industry
Gasum bunkers the first LNG-fuelled cruise ship built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique
The French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique (fka STX France in St-Nazaire) chose Gasum as the LNG supplier of fuel and technical adviser...
September 13, 2022 - show more news