Antwerp has recently replaced the cruise terminal with a new terminal inside the added section to the old castle called "Het Steen", they also added a new pontoon with stylish footbridge to get there. That's the reason why cruise ships now tie up a bit further out than they used to, giving photographers a new angle and location to take the best shots possible, for me it also provides me with a wide open space to launch the drone and the first ship I wanted to photograph from this new location was the Riviera.
Riviera is the second and last ship in the Oceania-class of cruise ships built for Oceania Cruises, the first ship to hit the water in 2011 was the Marina. I was able to photograph Marina in Antwerp in 2016 at the old cruise terminal, however in those days I usually took my shots from opposite the river as seen below.
In 2023 I was working in the Antwerp port area for a while and my shift was perfect for a visit to see the Riviera after work, so I booked a slot to fly the drone as the area is in the direct line of the runway of Antwerp airport. And on July 10th I went from work in the port area around Kieldrecht to the city center and took out the drone for a spin around the cruise terminal where the Riviera was tied up.
One of the photos was requested for use by Sebastiaan Peeters for use on his website about cruise ships in Antwerp (website), more specifically his page about the new cruise terminal - see here. This initial photo was used on my Facebook page as a teaser.
The rest of the photos can be seen here:
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