The cruise ship “Spirit of Adventure”, operated by Saga Cruises, made its maiden voyage to the Port of A Coruña on January 18th, arriving from Leixões (Porto). It docked at 8:30 a.m. with 621 passengers and 506 crew members on board, on a beautiful sunny day. Captain Franko Popich praised the beautiful weather during a reception for representatives of the Port Authority, the shipping agent Pérez y Cia, Corunna Cruise Terminal, and the State Security Forces.
The cruise ship is scheduled to leave the Transatlantic Pier for Southampton at 4:30 p.m. On the 19th, it will be replaced by its sister ship, the "Spirit of Discovery," which has diverted its route due to adverse weather conditions at its originally planned destination. The ship was scheduled to dock in Funchal after its stop in La Palma, but is now sailing directly to A Coruña, where it will dock at noon.
This will not be the only change to the schedule, which also includes the cancellation of the "Bolette's" stopover, planned for January 28. Therefore, once the Transatlantic Pier is cleared after tomorrow's stopover, it will reopen to the public, with access from the main gate opposite the Royal Yacht Club, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, starting this Friday. Maintenance work will be carried out on Thursday. In addition, the fencing on the Battery Pier, installed for bus access, will be removed, freeing up the quayside and opening up sea views. The pier will remain open continuously until February 20, unless other last-minute stopovers arise.
Cruise traffic forecasts for 2022 point to a record-breaking 170 port calls, representing a 40% increase over the previous high of 120 calls in 2017. Based on these projections, the economic impact the sector could generate for the city this year is estimated at around €25 million.
