The Spirit of Adventure, the new ship from the premium English company Saga Cruises, entered the port of Cagliari to dock at the western pier of the Rinascita pier, which on the same day welcomes the majestic Valiant Lady from the American company Virgin Voyages.
The Spirit of Adventure celebrated its debut in the Italian port with a plaque exchange ceremony attended by the Marketing Director of the Port Authority of Sardinia, Valeria Mangiarotti, the Port Captain, Mario Valente, and representatives from the Port of Cagliari Cruises and Italmar Sardinia.
Measuring 236 meters in length, with a draft of 7.6 meters and a maximum capacity of 999 passengers, this ship was built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and delivered to the cruise line in September 2020. However, due to the pandemic, its launch was postponed to July 2021, and the ship is now concluding its first year of operation. The Spirit of Adventure offers exploration itineraries, providing guests with an all-inclusive onboard experience, near-personalized passenger service, restaurants featuring cuisine from around the world, and unforgettable excursions.
This is the only inaugural call scheduled this week at the port of Cagliari: on Wednesday, June 15, it was the turn of the Star Pride, a 133-meter megayacht belonging to the luxury company Windstar Cruises, while on Saturday the 18th the cruise terminal of the Port of Cagliari will host the first call of the Seabourn Sojourn, jewel of another luxury company, Seabourn Cruise Line.
All these inaugural calls in Cagliari are an indication not only of the rapid recovery of the cruise market in the island's port, evidenced by figures more than tripled compared to the previous season, but also of the growing importance of the Sardinian capital as a destination, a result of the promotional work carried out in synergy by the Port of Cagliari Cruises, the Sardinian Sea Port Network Authority and the Cagliari City Council.
“Our goal is to grow, both in number and visibility,” says Stephen Xuereb, President of Cagliari Cruise Port. “We are thrilled with these inaugural calls, which demonstrate how more and more luxury cruise ships are being welcomed in Cagliari. This category of cruise lines features more smaller ships, easily accommodated in our large docks, but with a more discerning clientele, and their presence in our port proves that the city and its surrounding area are capable of adequately meeting the demands of this valuable market. To further enhance Cagliari’s appeal, however, investment in the development of the port facilities is essential, including planned projects such as the expansion of the cruise terminal, necessary to meet the numerous berth requests already received for the coming seasons, and the reorganization of traffic, so that the entire old port area is dedicated to cruise ship reception.”.
“We are confident that our collaboration with the Port Authority will allow us not only to achieve our commercial objectives, but also to give Cagliari its deserved role as a premier cruise destination in the Mediterranean.”.
