The visit of the ship 'Mein Schiff 2' revives cruise tourism by guaranteeing safety in operations and scheduled excursions

Málaga today became the first port on the Iberian Peninsula to receive a cruise ship after a 15-month hiatus. The visit of the 'Mein Schiff 2', from the TUI shipping company specializing in the German market, reactivates cruise tourism, guaranteeing safety in operations and scheduled excursions.

The ship, with 1,275 passengers on board from the Canary Islands, arrived at 6:15 a.m. at Terminal A, where it will remain docked until 7:00 p.m., at which time it will depart for Palma de Mallorca to begin a new national route that will include two more stops at the port on June 22 and July 6.

The President of the Port Authority, Carlos Rubio, emphasized that “today is a very important day for Malaga, as evidenced by the institutional support shown throughout the day.” He added, “We have been working, from the Port Authority and the cruise terminal, with health authorities and the shipping industry to be prepared for this day and to ensure that cruise passengers visiting us enjoy their stay safely. We will continue working to welcome cruise lines soon, as Malaga has demonstrated that it is a cruise-friendly destination.”.

For his part, the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, emphasized that “the arrival of cruise ships will contribute to reactivating tourism, a task to which we are all fully committed, and will directly benefit the local economy. The 50 confirmed calls consolidate our position as one of the leading cruise destinations and demonstrate tourists' interest in Málaga; furthermore, according to industry data, 80% of the visits booked by cruise operators will be spent in the city.” De la Torre highlighted that the City Council is in constant contact with the Port Authority to assist in cruise coordination and stressed how Málaga has prepared itself to face the return of this industry under the best possible conditions, with a high level of safety and tourism quality.

The director of CLIA Spain, Alfredo Serrano, stated that “throughout these months, the cruise industry has taken the lead in developing and implementing very demanding health protocols to protect our passengers, crew, and residents of the destinations we visit. Since the beginning of the pandemic, CLIA has worked constantly with its members, governments, medical and scientific experts, ports, and terminals to further strengthen health protocols, in line with European guidelines that many countries have followed as a basis for establishing their regulations. And today, we can confirm that these are the most stringent protocols in international transport and tourism.”.

Meeting with the Ship's Captain
The President of the Port Authority and the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, with the collaboration of Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol, the Ministry of Tourism of the Andalusian Regional Government, Malaga Cruise Port and Intercruises presented a commemorative plaque to the ship's captain, Tom Roth, who highlighted that "Spain was the only country in the world that, together with TUI, developed a protocol to allow cruise ships to call at our port," adding that "this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Also present at this meeting were representatives from the Territorial Delegation of Health of the Andalusian Regional Government, State Ports, Suncruise Andalusia and CLIA Spain.

"Bubble" excursions:
The TUI cruise line is developing a "bubble" cruise experience, allowing only excursions organized by the company itself, which guarantees that anti-COVID-19 safety measures are respected for both the passenger and crew, as well as for the population of the destination being visited.

For this reason, cruise passengers visited the capital and the province in small groups, having chosen emblematic places in the historic center and also traditional municipalities such as Ronda, Mijas or Marbella, among others, supporting the gradual recovery of the economy.

Ship coincidence
In addition to this stop, another ship from the TUI Cruises company, the 'Mein Schiff 4', visits the Port of Malaga today from 2pm.

It will be a technical stop, without passengers, so it will coincide with the stay of its sister ship 'Mein Schiff 2'.