<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>Rotterdam voted “Smart City 2014”</strong></span></p><p><img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="http://www.cruiselegend.com/News/images/EditorUploadedImages/f8a8985e-6635-4cc8-8848-fb801f8a0e8e.jpeg" src="http://www.cruiselegend.com/News/images/EditorUploadedImages/f8a8985e-6635-4cc8-8848-fb801f8a0e8e.jpeg" style="font-size: 12px; width: 500px; height: 114px;"></p><p><span style="font-size: 12px;">Rotterdam has been voted one of the Smart Cities 2014. The quarterly magazine The New Economy has given Smart Cities Awards to twenty cities all over the world who qualify as ‘cities of the future’ in the area of sustainable development. The New Economy praised Rotterdam for its efforts to protect itself against climate change and bolster its image as the most sustainable port city in the world.</span></p><p>Rotterdam is proud to be given the title of ‘smart city’. Mayor Aboutaleb: “In conjunction with universities and colleges and the corporate world, Rotterdam is finding solutions to the challenges that increasingly face all modern urban areas. A good example is our approach to water, which has made us the most prominent and innovative water-knowledge city in the world.”&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Rotterdam has also upgraded its Cruise Terminal</strong></p><p><img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="http://www.cruiselegend.com/News/images/EditorUploadedImages/010fddc0-e47f-45c1-bb44-3eaaec40474b.jpeg" src="http://www.cruiselegend.com/News/images/EditorUploadedImages/010fddc0-e47f-45c1-bb44-3eaaec40474b.jpeg" style="font-size: 12px; width: 250px; height: 147px;"><br></p><p><span style="font-size:10px;"><em>Renovation ready by year-end. Cruise passengers unaffected &nbsp;</em></span></p><p>The renovation – or rather the makeover and expansion – of the historic Cruise Terminal Rotterdam (since 1947) is in full swing, and yet nobody knows. “And that’s exactly the point,” Cees Scherpenisse (senior terminal manager) and Cleo Hupkes (architect/project manager) comment.</p><p>The state monument known as the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal is about to welcome an indoor luggage space, a new boarding bridge and state-of-the-art wave goodbye terrace. Project manager Cleo Hupkes (Port of Rotterdam) reveals this is a joint project of the Port and the Municipality of Rotterdam. “Our goal to have everything up-to-date for the upcoming decade. And I mean everything including terminal, quay, logistics and also we want to be ready to welcome even more passenger ships in the future.”</p><p>Cees Scherpenisse proudly explains: “We will have a truly magnificent quay. And the great thing is that we get to stay open during renovation. In fact, passengers have no idea what is going on. If there are no cruise ships at the quay, work at the terminal will be performed day and night, for example to have the new boarding bridge ready on time. By the time Oasis of the Seas visits on 30 September, we will have made some wonderful progress. But we will only be truly ready towards the end of this year.”&nbsp;</p><p><br></p>