Over two million cruise passengers to call at Balearic Islands’ ports in 2015
Palma de Mallorca
27/08/2014
The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) is getting ready for the best cruise season in its history in 2015, which will see it welcoming over two million passengers in just one year. The Port of Palma is the driving force behind the upturn in figures with 1.8 million passengers calling at the Majorcan enclave next year, thus representing an increase of half a million passengers on the forecast for 2014. According to the APB Chairman, Alberto Pons, these figures are very positive because they show the efforts made “to encourage the major shipping companies to continue using Palma as a destination”.This is borne out by forecasts which indicate that around 600 cruises will be calling at the Port of Palma next year. Thus, the port will beat its own record, set in 2011, in which it registered 1.4 million passengers and 534 calls in just one year. The figures recorded in 2011 were distorted by the events of the Arab Spring, which caused over 50 cruise ships to be diverted to the Port of Palma from the north of Africa at the last minute.The highlights of the 2015 season include 23 visits of the Allure of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, which is 361 metres long and has a capacity for over 6,000 passengers. In fact, a total of nine cruise ships over 300 metres long will be calling at the port during the season. Ships such as the Costa Diadema, MSC Divina, MSC Preziosa, Norwegian Epic, Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, and the Celebrity Equinox will be regular visitors to the port. The three Mein Schiff ships, belonging to the company TUI, have also asked to use the Port of Palma as their home port for next season’s operations.Alcudia continues to growThe other Majorcan port managed by the APB, the Port of Alcudia, will be playing host to five cruises in 2015, three more than in 2014, with the Silver Wind calling at the port on three occasions. Conversely, calls at the ports of Ibiza (-11.6%), Mahon (-35.9%) and La Savina (-85.7%) are set to fall in 2015.These estimates are based on the berthing requests made by the cruise companies operating at the APB ports, and thus may change over the next few months. Press Office Port Authority of the Balearic Islands
