The Port of Vigo is experiencing one of the star days of the year, thanks to the simultaneous stay, right in the city center, of three cruise ships: the Celebrity Silhouette and the Ventura, which will share a stay at the Transatlantic Dock, and the Viking Mars, on its inaugural visit, which will be docked at the Commercial Dock.
In total, more than 9,000 people, including passengers and crew, are expected to arrive in Vigo by sea, which would make this triple stop the most crowded of the year.
The Ventura was the earliest of the three ships. It arrived at 6:00 a.m. from Lisbon and will set sail for Southampton. On board are 2,880 passengers and 1,130 crew members.
Meanwhile, the Celebrity Silhouette arrived at 08.00h from Lisbon with 2,693 passengers and 1,095 crew members and will say goodbye to the Vigo Estuary to head to Southampton.
The Viking Mars followed suit at 7:00 a.m., arriving from Falmouth. On board are 892 passengers and 458 crew members, who will be heading to Málaga.
Inaugural stopover
On the occasion of its inaugural stop, the president of the Vigo Port Authority, Jesús Vázquez Almuiña, participated in the traditional exchange of plaques with the ship's captain, in a ceremony that took place at the foot of the ship, docked at the Commercial Wharf, after which he made a visit on board.
According to him, this triple stop has forced the Port to take extra security and operational measures, and has enabled its second Cruise Terminal to facilitate the embarkation and disembarkation of the passengers and crew of the Viking Mars.
With around 90 port calls, the 2022 figures appear to reflect a transitional period back to normal. Cruise traffic at the Port of Vigo is rebounding to its best call numbers in the last decade, with current forecasts of between 150,000 and 165,000 passengers, depending on occupancy rates during the last quarter of the year. This is all thanks to the significant effort made by the sector during the pandemic, which has made these record figures possible.
For the remainder of the season, the Port of Vigo expects a total of 11 cruise ship arrivals in October, 8 in November, and 5 in December. Among the highlights are today's triple call and three double calls: October 27 (Sky Princess and Ventura), November 1 (Celebrity Infinity and Iona), and December 19 (Balmoral and Borealis). The season will conclude with the arrival of the Iona on December 30.
