The Port of Bilbao has welcomed three cruise ships to its Getxo facilities, bringing a total of 8,700 tourists on board. This is the largest number of cruise passengers to visit the Basque Country in a single day, and their presence has been more noticeable than ever before, especially in the streets of Bilbao and in the town of Getxo itself.
The first cruise ship to arrive, originating from the French port of Cherbourg, was the Independence of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International and one of the largest cruise ships in the world. It previously visited the Port of Bilbao in May 2014, coinciding with the inauguration of the third cruise ship berth, and returned last year. The ship is 339 meters long, 56 meters wide, carries 4,280 passengers, and its next destination is Gijón.
The second ship to arrive, coming from A Coruña, was the Britannia, which has visited Bilbao every season and on several occasions since 2015. With a length of 330 meters and a beam of 44 meters, it is the largest ship in the British company P&O. It carried 3,828 passengers and its next destination is La Rochelle, France.
The third cruise ship, the Seven Seas Explorer, from the Oceania company, has docked after arriving from A Coruña and its next destination is the French port of Le Verdon. This was its first stop in Bilbao. The ship, 224 meters long and 31 meters wide, was built on July 13, 2016, and was designed to be the most luxurious ship ever built. It arrived with 604 passengers.
This is the second time this season that three cruise ships have docked on the same day. The previous instance was last Saturday, the 27th. On that occasion, nearly 2,500 tourists arrived.
