Thai Authorities Hold Seminar on Building a Port for Large Cruise Ships in Pattaya

[webfact]

Pattaya — Thai authorities held a second seminar on the proposed construction of the country’s first large-scale international yacht/cruise ship port in Pattaya.

The seminar was held on August 17th, 2023, at the Hard Rock Hotel in Pattaya and was chaired by Mr. Pisit Sirisawasdinkul, the District Chief of Banglamung.

 

The port is planned to be located at the Bali Hai Pier, which is a suitable spot that can accommodate large cruise ships. The port will also have a passenger terminal and other supporting infrastructure and amenities.

Mr. Pisit stated that the construction of the port is part of the Thai government’s plan to boost cruise tourism in the country. Cruise tourism has been growing in Southeast Asia in recent years, and Thailand is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend, he added.

 

The port is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 2029, with the capacity to handle up to 2 million passengers per year and create thousands of jobs.

 

By Tanakorn Panyadee

PHOTO: PRPATTAYA

 

Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2023/08/18/thai-authorities-hold-seminar-on-building-a-port-for-large-cruise-ships-in-pattaya/

 

-- THE PATTAYA NEWS 2023-08-19

 

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[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The port is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 2029, with the capacity to handle up to 2 million passengers per year and create thousands of jobs.

Passengers on cruise ships may want more than a brief stroll around walking street though?

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Passengers on cruise ships may want more than a brief stroll around walking street though?

They could take a walk down the promenade...oh wait, it's all ripped up again. Another fancy futuristic picture, and figment of someone's  creative imagination......but hey, how about we finish the Beach Rd footpath, the 2nd Rd work, soi 15 behind the Avenue and some other projects first.

[hotchilli]

Just now, jacko45k said:

They could take a walk down the promenade...oh wait, it's all ripped up again. Another fancy futuristic picture, and figment of someone's  creative imagination......but hey, how about we finish the Beach Rd footpath, the 2nd Rd work, soi 15 behind the Avenue and some other projects first.

And play whistling in the wind an a tanoy system.

[supersomchai]

Just when more European cities 

start to ban cruise ships (Amsterdam and Venice).

Pattaya stays ahead of the curve ?????

 

[Tarteso]

.. And a landing strip for the UFOs

[Cake Monster]

How will they ever manage to clear a safe Channel for these large Ships through all the Stuff such as Floating Restaurants, jet Skis and para gliders that currently littering the whole bay

Major Incident waiting to happen

 

[Grumpy one]

19 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

.. And a landing strip for the UFOs

I thought they had already landed and taken up residence 

[Gsxrnz]

33 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

How will they ever manage to clear a safe Channel for these large Ships through all the Stuff such as Floating Restaurants, jet Skis and para gliders that currently littering the whole bay

Major Incident waiting to happen

 

It will work the same as on the roads - give way to anything bigger and heavier than you, or suffer the consequences.

 

Cruise Liners will be the Concrete Trucks of Pattaya Bay.

[mikebell]

Laem Chabang port is 26.4 kms away.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

 

  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bali+Hai+Pier,+ถนน+พัทยาใต้+Pattaya+City,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri+20150/Laem+Chabang,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri/@13.0114347,100.8400641,12z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102c090be001f0d:0x493d4a0fdaad4fb1!2m2!1d100.8678184!2d12.9260047!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102bed673b9abed:0x2b37eb8c3bf71a16!2m2!1d100.9158073!2d13.1040552!3e0?entry=ttu

 

'The port is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 2029' - how long has Sukhumvit road taken?  2nd Road?  Thepprasit?  Still unfinished!

[petermik]

The horrendous Waterfront building could be completed for overnight stays..........

[carlyai]

Being positive :) It's an idea that was always on the cards. Good for Pattaya.

They need to do sand migration test so that all the Pattaya sandy (world class) beaches don't wash away.

[Lucky Bones]

A seminar, not a committee?

2026?

Budget will be long gone.????????

[rocketboy2]

3 hours ago, carlyai said:

Being positive :) It's an idea that was always on the cards. Good for Pattaya.

They need to do sand migration test so that all the Pattaya sandy (world class) beaches don't wash away.

Nah.

Can't go interfering in the pattaya jobs / kick backs for life program that's in place.

[nglodnig]

Let's hope they build a large Immigration Hall to process the 5,000 passengers all wanting to get off at the same time. Shouldn't take more than a day to process them with one desk open (as usual)

[josephbloggs]

On 8/19/2023 at 7:19 AM, supersomchai said:

Just when more European cities 

start to ban cruise ships (Amsterdam and Venice).

Pattaya stays ahead of the curve ?????

 

Why should Pattaya ban them? It can handle American air carrier fleets, a cruise ship here and three shouldn't be a problem.

Pattaya is nothing like Amsterdam or Venice.

[josephbloggs]

41 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

Let's hope they build a large Immigration Hall to process the 5,000 passengers all wanting to get off at the same time. Shouldn't take more than a day to process them with one desk open (as usual)

Cruise ship passengers don't do immigration locally, it is all done in advance. So nice bash attempt, but sorry.

[nglodnig]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Cruise ship passengers don't do immigration locally, it is all done in advance. So nice bash attempt, but sorry.

From https://www.ivisa.com/thailand/blog/thailand-visa-on-arrival-by-cruisehttps://www.ivisa.com/thailand/blog/thailand-visa-on-arrival-by-cruise

 

It depends on your which country you live in. According to the Immigration Bureau of Thailand, citizens of certain countries must be ready to get a Visa on Arrival when the cruise ship docks in-port......

 

So nice deflection attempt, but sorry

[still kicking]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Cruise ship passengers don't do immigration locally, it is all done in advance. So nice bash attempt, but sorry.

Nonsense not where I live 

[Harsh Jones]

3 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Why should Pattaya ban them? It can handle American air carrier fleets, a cruise ship here and three shouldn't be a problem.

Pattaya is nothing like Amsterdam or Venice.

i was going to ask, how do the seppo sailors get to Pattaya ?

[pomchop]

Having been on approx 100 cruises all over the world i have learned a few things:

 

1.  In the vast majority of cases there is no immigration clearing required to get off at a port call unless it is the initial embarkation or final disembarkation port.  

All passengers and crew ids are scanned electronically and any person who does not return to the ship for sailing would be reported to local port authorities who would deal with them accordingly

 

2.  The cruise lines and local tour companies will have a program to offer dozens of optional shore excursions to the passengers as it is a major profit center.  Many of these will be full or half day bus tours of local sights like temples, gardens, sanctuart of truth with an english speaking tour guide... e and yes even full day to bangkok.  There would also be deals made with shows like tiffany to offer matinees when big ships are in and that would be sold likely as a lunch and show type option.  No doubt there will also be tours to visit massage/salon/pedicure/manicure places in addition to shopping tours. There will be boat rides to koh larn for beach/snorkeling.  There will likely be tours to Thai cooking schools and tours that include a seafood lunch etc. It is likely the cruise stop would be from approx 8 am til approx 6 pm and rarely would they stay overnight or much past dark.

 

3.  Most of the passengers will be inf the 70 y.o. age bracket and most will buy some sort of tour then return to the ship to eat/relax.  A few braver souls will take off on their own in taxis/bolts/baht buses but most will buy the organized tours either on board from the cruise line or from local tour operators who will set up on the pier to offer tours at generally cheaper prices.

 

4.  The crew will want to go to local stores like lotus or big C to stock up on various items they want.  There will be hundredes of crew members who will have maybe 4 hours to get off and wander about.  They would likely share a bolt or ride baht buses as they are young and on budgets.  

 

5.  The ship may or may not buy a little or a massive amount of supplies such as food/beverages/fuel etc depending on prices/availablity and the rest of the schedule.

 

6.  There are all sorts of safety protocols of tug boats and security boats to "clear" the path when the ships arrive and depart via channels.  There are also all kinds of security around the ship when it is docked.

 

7. The cruise business is a massive and growing business.  Pattaya is not amsterdam or venice and will likely never be.   Yes there has been backlash against some of the massive 5000 passenger ships that can show up several on the same day in places like venice  added to an already crowded tourist destination and it is just too many people in one day and a lot of locals do not like it . The chances of that in Pattaya are decades down the road.

 

8.  Most likely pattaya would be part of a 14 day itinerary to include maybe ko samui , phuket, viet nam, maybe hong kong, singapore etc.  It would likely not be a major embarkation or disembarkation point ...most likely it would be one of several stops on a hong kong to singapore type cruise.

 

9.  For those who have visions of any major ship offering 3 or 4 day cruises to phuket/ko samui back to pattaya highly doubtful.

 

10.  No idea if it will ever happen but tourism officials would be stupid not to at least explore the idea as the upside could represent millions of dollars pouring into Pattaya,  The current port of Laem Chabang is very very industrial and is a horrible port for tourists. It is controlled by one of the most brutual rip off  taxi mafias i have ever seen anywhere in the world and it is too far to walk to the port gate and the area at laem chabang itself is not exactly a tourist mecca.  I suspect several mr bigs who control laem chabang will lobby very heavily against any developement of pattaya as a signficant port as they are making a pile of $$ with the status quo.

 

  

[pomchop]

As to immigration requirements for certain citizens of certain countries:  My experience has been that if indeed there are passengers onboard from countries who do require some kind of visa the way it works is those people are advised to meet in one of the ships theatres etc on the morning of the ships arrival where local immigration officials are on board to check their passports and issue any docs required....it is generally a small number.  Every passenger must submit all passport info etc well before the first embarkation and the ship is very much aware of what nationalities are onboard and must report the numbers etc to local officials prior to port arrival.  The crew alone is often from dozens of different countries.

[jacko45k]

On 8/19/2023 at 9:09 AM, mikebell said:

Laem Chabang port is 26.4 kms away.

  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bali+Hai+Pier,+ถนน+พัทยาใต้+Pattaya+City,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri+20150/Laem+Chabang,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri/@13.0114347,100.8400641,12z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102c090be001f0d:0x493d4a0fdaad4fb1!2m2!1d100.8678184!2d12.9260047!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102bed673b9abed:0x2b37eb8c3bf71a16!2m2!1d100.9158073!2d13.1040552!3e0?entry=ttu

 

'The port is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 2029' - how long has Sukhumvit road taken?  2nd Road?  Thepprasit?  Still unfinished!

Now now, there were a couple of major projects that did work out timewise.... The Railway Line Bypass Rd and the Underpass spring to mind. Sadly the much talked of North Rd/ Tai and Threppasit underpass/bridge/flyovers never happened, and The Railway line Rd has been made a mess of by heaven knows how many drainage pipes there must be under there now. 

[morrobay]

This is going to be a never ending project: all the feeder roads infrastructure for kilometers are going to be under construction. They can't even complete the endless ****shows all over the place. Photo second Rd endless

[Oink]

If you live in Thailand and sail from Laem Chabang and call into Ko Samui, Phuket and finish in Sinapore, do you need a mulitple re-entry Permit or just a single to fly back in?

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 8/19/2023 at 9:09 AM, mikebell said:

Laem Chabang port is 26.4 kms away.

  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Bali+Hai+Pier,+ถนน+พัทยาใต้+Pattaya+City,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri+20150/Laem+Chabang,+Bang+Lamung+District,+Chon+Buri/@13.0114347,100.8400641,12z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102c090be001f0d:0x493d4a0fdaad4fb1!2m2!1d100.8678184!2d12.9260047!1m5!1m1!1s0x3102bed673b9abed:0x2b37eb8c3bf71a16!2m2!1d100.9158073!2d13.1040552!3e0?entry=ttu

 

'The port is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 2029' - how long has Sukhumvit road taken?  2nd Road?  Thepprasit?  Still unfinished!

The port will involve foreign engineers and contractors so it will probably be completed at some point.

 

Those projects you mention are perpetual boondoggles for the local mafia politicians to make money. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Stocky]

So what's the plan, topple the Waterfront Condo mess into the bay and voila! you have a cruise liner terminal?

 

[bbko]

Wasn't there talk of a Pattaya monorail earlier this year involving areas around town & Bali Hai?

And I know there was talk of a high speed train linking U-Tapo-Pattaya-BKK.

And then there was talk of a new tunnel at Sukumvit & Pattaya Tai road.

 

Wow, there's a lot of construction talk going on.

[redwood1]

Has anyone even looked at where Pattaya is on a map....Pattaya is far from almost all cruise ship routes.....Pattaya is not on the way to anything else really.......This new terminal would require a massive massive investment for a very limited number of ships......

 

 

 

[supersomchai]

Pattaya hub of perpetual construction☹️