Shekou Cruise Center

Shenzhen Prince Bay Cruise Homeport is a ferry port located in Shekou, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China. It allows for direct ferry connections from Shenzhen to destinations across the Pearl River Delta. It is operated by China Merchant Shekou Ferry Terminal Service Co., Ltd. Is also known as Shekou Port Ferry Terminal. It is the waterway passenger transportation junction of Shenzhen. Ferry operations are operated by Xunlong Ferries, TurboJET and CKS Ferries. It can also handle cruise ships docking and replenishment, the first cruise terminal in China. This facility replaces the former Shekou Passenger Terminal and is part of a larger urban renewal and redevelopment along Shenzhen Bay.

History

It was announced by the operating company, in December 2013, that a major redevelopment will take place. With construction expected to start in 2014, it is expected to take 3 years to complete. It would allow for cruise ships and ferries to dock at the same facility.^[1] The first cruise ship, the SuperStar Virgo of Star Cruises tied alongside, on Friday afternoon October 14th, 2016, ahead of the terminal's opening party.^[2] The new Shenzhen Prince Bay Cruise Homeport will open on November 1st, 2016. It is located 1.5km south-west of the current ferry terminal with a free shuttle bus connecting the new terminal with the Shekou Port Metro Station.^[3]

Structure

The triangular shaped terminal building allows for a much larger space than the former ferry terminal. It features 12 ferries berths and 2 cruise ship berths.

Destinations

There are 30 ships operating from the terminal, of which 22 are high speed luxury ferries, and 8 are ordinary high speed ferries.^[4] These service five scheduled high speed passenger ship lines (namely Shekou to Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, Macau Peninsula, Macau's Taipa Island and Zhuhai) and nonscheduled charter services to Pearl River Delta islands.

Destination English (Chinese)	Terminal Name English (Chinese)	Service Schedule From Shekou (To Shekou)	Distance Nautical Miles (Duration)

Hong Kong	Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal (港澳碼頭)	0745-1915 (0900-2030)	25Nm (50min)
Hong Kong International Airport	Skypier (海天客運碼頭)	0745-2100 (0900-2145)	11Nm (30min)
Macau	Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal (外港客運碼頭)	0815-1930 (0945-2045)	25Nm (1 hour)
Macau	Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal	0930-1900 (1100-2030)	32Nm (70min)
Zhuhai	Zhuhai Jiuzhou Ferry Terminal	0730-2130 (0800-2130)	25Nm (1 hour)

Pre-check in service is available for certain flights departing from Hong Kong International Airport, so at Shekou Terminal, passengers can directly get the boarding pass and baggage delivery service for flights taking off from Hong Kong International Airport. Participating airlines are as follows for check-in services:^[5]-

Ground transportation

Taxis are available close to the door. A connecting bus shuttle service will link with the site of the former Shekou Passenger Terminal. Here there is a bus depot offering local services across Nanshan but with some services across to Futian and Luohu districts of the city terminating at Shenzhen Railway Station. Airport Express Line 10 offers quick transfer to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. Metro rail services are available beyond the bus depot at the underground Shekou Port Station on the Shekou Line.