The Port Authority of the Bay of Cadiz has registered reservations for 15 ships that will visit the port for the first time this year, with six new additions in April.
The Port Authority of the Bay of Cádiz (APBC) points out that this increase is not only observed in April, but also in the overall annual figures. For 2016, the APBC expects 15 new ships to fulfill their bookings, 5 more than in 2015.
“We want to increase the number of ships, even though we have many more than other neighboring ports. What interests us most is attracting new customers. Sometimes cruise lines have to rotate their destinations because they have a very loyal clientele who return year after year with lines like P&O or AIDA. That's why it's so important that they bring in new ships to compensate for those that don't come that year,” explains Kate Bonner, Commercial Director of the APBC.
The Mein Schiff 4 already visited the city on April 8th. This week, the L'Lyrial, the Variety Voyager, and the Viking Sea will arrive.
During the first week of May, the port of Cadiz will debut three cruise ships at its docks: Royal Princess, which will stop on May 2, Koningsdman, which will arrive the following day, and the Queen Mary 2, which will arrive on May 7, owned by Cunard.
There will be no new calls until July, in the middle of summer, a time when there was usually no activity in this sector but which has been incorporated into the schedules of tourist shipping companies after verifying the mild climate of this area, a crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The Sovereign cruise ship, operated by Pullmantur, will make its first stop in the port of Cádiz on July 12th, followed by the Thomson Discovery on July 20th. The Sirena, a ship belonging to Oceania, will make its first visit on July 25th.
There will be no other first calls until September. This month will see the arrival of the Global Cruise Lines Astoria and the TUI Mein Schieff 5 in Cádiz for the first time. The last cruise ship to debut a new destination in 2016 will be the Wind Star Pride, from Wind Star, which will call on October 26.
