Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 64 – March 2023
The Port of Vigo expects 2023 to have more than 100 cruise ship calls that will bring nearly 250,000 passengers to the Atlantic city, a historic figure that was only reached in 2011, when it set the absolute record for ports in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula with 253,637 passengers.
These excellent figures come after the post-pandemic recovery that began in late 2021 and an unstable 2022 with changes in port calls and ships operating at between 50% and 75% capacity. Despite this, the Port of Vigo ended 2022 with 91 port calls and more than 173,000 passengers, a figure not seen since 2015.
Improvements and new features in facilities
At the end of 2022, the Port Authority invested in improving the pavement and berthing line of the Transatlantic Pier, creating an accessible route for embarkation and disembarkation without architectural barriers. In addition, the renovation of berthing elements, such as bollards and fenders, has begun.
The Port of Vigo stands out internationally for its commitment to sustainability and one of the actions it is undertaking is the improvement of energy efficiency in all its facilities, so during the years 2023 and 2024 it will carry out energy efficiency improvement works in the Maritime Station worth 1 million euros.
It has also launched several studies with national electricity companies to implement power supply to ships at ro-ro, container, and cruise terminals, although the city center location of the cruise terminals makes the latter particularly challenging. The first practical results are expected in 2025 and 2026.
2023, a year full of milestones
In 2023, the Port of Vigo will receive 12 double calls, 2 triple calls, and one quadruple call. The quadruple call will be truly special, when the Anthem of the Seas, Disney Dream, Silver Moon, and Ambition are all in port on September 19th.
On October 31, more than 11,500 passengers and 4,500 crew members are expected to be welcomed aboard the Iona, from P&O Cruises, the Sky Princess, from Princess Cruises, and the Celebrity Infinity, from Celebrity Cruises.
The double stop on May 10 will also be important in terms of the number of people who will be received, as between the MSC Virtuosa and the P&O Ventura, more than 12,000 visitors, including passengers and crew, will arrive in the city.
There will be 15 inaugural calls, most notably that of the Disney Dream, which will visit Vigo twice, replacing the Disney Magic, which visited the city five times, with its larger length and greater capacity. Other inaugural calls will include those of the Norwegian Getaway and Norwegian Dawn, from NCL, and the Ambition, the second ship from Ambassador Cruise Lines, as well as ships launched in 2023 such as the Carnival Jubilee, the Silver Nova, the SH Diana, the Scenic Eclipse 2, and the Renaissance, the ship that marks the beginning of operations for the new French cruise line CFC.
In 2023, Vigo will once again receive a visit from the Queen Mary 2, an iconic ship that visited the city even before its official inauguration, during the navigation tests, and which returned on many occasions, although the last visit was in 2015.
P&O Cruises is the cruise line contributing the most port calls, with 27, of which the Ventura alone will make 15. Celebrity Cruises follows with 7 calls, NCL and Royal Caribbean with 6 each, and MSC Cruises with 5. AIDA Cruises has 4 calls planned for 2023, after several attempts were thwarted by the pandemic and subsequent itinerary changes. The ultra-luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises will call 4 times, with 2 of those calls being inaugural.
Although 65% of the ships that Vigo will receive in 2023 have a length greater than 250 meters, there is an increasing presence of smaller luxury, expedition and adventure ships, such as Silversea, Scenic, Azamara, SeaCloud, Hurtigruten, Hapag-Lloyd, Ponant, etc.
Terminals
Vigo's two cruise terminals are in the heart of the city, next to the Old Town and connected by a pedestrian walkway with gardens.
The Transatlantic Pier, with a 700-meter berthing line, allows for the simultaneous docking of two cruise ships with lengths exceeding 300 meters and a draft of 12 meters. At the Alberto Durán Maritime Station, located on this pier, cruise traffic is handled by two concessioned terminals: Vigo Cruise Terminal and Atlantic Vigo Cruise Terminal, both offering comprehensive embarkation and disembarkation services.
To the east, the Commerce dock, with a berthing line of 300 meters, is the El Tinglado del Puerto cruise terminal, a non-concessioned terminal dedicated to complementing the service to cruise traffic in cases of multiple stops of more than two cruise ships.
The Port of Vigo complies with the highest health, quality, safety and ISPS standards.
Vigo, the trendy tourist destination
Vigo has attracted media attention in recent years not only for its spectacular Christmas celebrations but also for its numerous tourist attractions year-round. The tourism industry is growing in the city with the opening of new hotels and improvements to rail and air connections.
The natural beauty of the Vigo Estuary never fails to amaze visitors, providing an unparalleled setting for all kinds of excursions; it's no wonder it inspired Jules Verne to include it in his famous novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. With the spectacular Cíes Islands protecting the estuary, cruise ships enter the Port of Vigo on calm seas and dock right in the city center without the need for tugboats.
The city's historic center is practically at sea level, offering a wide variety of restaurants, especially seafood, along its characteristic cobbled streets. Beyond the historic center lies the city's main pedestrian shopping area, and more adventurous travelers can continue their stroll to the summit of Mount El Castro, the highest point in the city center, whose castle offers one of the city's most impressive viewpoints. On one of the mountain's slopes lie the remains of the Celtic civilization, which inhabited the area in the 2nd century BC.
Besides the Monte El Castro viewpoint, a tour of the city shouldn't miss a stop at the Pazo Quiñones de León, a Galician palace famous for its magnificent gardens. The garden is divided into six sections: the entrance garden, the French garden, the English garden (or tea meadow), the sunny terrace, and finally, the woods. These gardens boast fantastic centuries-old species, most notably the camellias.
Another source of pride for the city is Samil beach, a sandy area over 1500 meters long, with a promenade bordering it full of pleasant terraces and sports facilities.
Cíes Islands, a natural paradise
Located within the Atlantic Islands National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage candidate, these beaches are a true natural paradise just a 40-minute boat ride from the cruise ship pier. In recent years, they have gained significant international recognition, not only thanks to The Guardian's 2007 recommendation naming their main beach "The Best Beach in the World," but also because in 2022, The New York Times included them in its list of 52 uncrowded destinations that shouldn't be missed.
They have already received visits from expedition cruise ships from National Geographic, Hapag-Lloyd, SeaCloud, Silversea and Scenic, anchored a few meters from the shore.
Day trips outside the city
Vigo's geographical location offers passengers a wide variety of attractive excursions such as Santiago de Compostela, a World Heritage city and a major international pilgrimage center; as well as the medieval towns of Baiona and Tui or the curious fishing village of Combarro.
Being a region with a great winemaking tradition, it is possible to visit vineyards and wineries to taste some of the wines produced here, such as Albariño, internationally recognized as one of the best white wines and a perfect accompaniment to the local fish and seafood.
Living ports: an underwater viewer as a tourist experience
Starting in April, the area around the Transatlantic Dock will have a new attraction for tourists and visitors: the underwater viewer framed within the internationally awarded Living Ports project.
This is an underwater viewing platform approximately 19 meters long, with 310 square meters of structures anchored to the dock wall. Designed by the Israeli firm ECOncrete, its concrete facilitates the colonization of marine flora and fauna. Three floating pontoons and two access walkways complete the installation, which is sure to fascinate both tourists and locals, who will be able to directly observe the diversity and richness of the Vigo estuary's marine ecosystem in the basin adjacent to the Transatlantic Pier.
Cruise Tourism Committee
A forum has recently been created in which the main actors involved in this traffic participate, whose main objective is to promote the port and destination, based on the premise of dialogue and institutional collaboration to join efforts and offer an integrated image of the port and destination that can improve the scheduling of port calls in the coming years.
