In a year's time, in April 2025, Alma Cruceros, the country's first luxury cruise line, will begin operating in Spain. It will be based in Malaga and will offer exclusive trips designed for the Spanish-speaking community.
It will be on April 18th of next year when the 'boutique' ship Ocean Victory will make its inaugural cruise between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the capital of Malaga, from where it will make voyages of between one and two weeks, mainly through the western Mediterranean, North Africa and the Canary Islands.
The ship, which currently carries out expeditions in Antarctica and southern Argentina, will come to Spain for an initial period of ten years during the summer seasons, although the goal is to incorporate new ships in the future, explains Elisardo Sánchez, a businessman from Malaga and founding partner and president of Alma Cruceros.
The Ocean Victory, built in 2021, has 93 double cabins, all of them outside and most with balconies, for a total of 186 passengers, and will have more than one hundred crew members to provide onboard service.
Sánchez points out that the ship is equipped with "the highest safety and communications technology", as well as hybrid electric engines and other technical features that make it "highly sustainable" from an environmental point of view.
The Ocean Victory, blue in color and 104 meters long, has four restaurants, various lounges for shows and entertainment, a swimming pool, spa, gym, shop, jacuzzis and solarium.
Alma, the businessman points out, aims to offer "a combination of traditional cruise and large private yacht," hence, in addition to urban destinations, it allows its passengers to enjoy dreamlike coves by anchoring at different points along the coast during the journey.
“We are here to transform the cruise sector in Spain because we have created a unique, exclusive and sophisticated product,” says Sánchez, who wants the company to be “closely linked to Malaga and Andalusia in general” and for this reason will connect all Andalusian ports, such as Seville, Cadiz, Huelva, Motril or Almeria, in addition to Malaga.
Alma Cruceros offers a product “made by Spaniards and designed for Spaniards and Spanish speakers,” says Elisardo Sánchez.
The idea is that the gastronomy, services, music, nightlife or the various entertainment shows on board are designed "to the taste of the Spanish" and that the reference language, also of the crew, is Spanish, unlike the cruises of the Anglo-Saxon companies, where English is the usual language due to the diverse origin of the passengers.
“We are going to target the Spanish market and, especially, the American market. We want the ship to be a meeting point for Spaniards, Argentinians, Chileans, Colombians, Peruvians, and Mexicans, but also, and very importantly, for the Spanish-speaking community in the United States,” the businessman explains.
Alma Cruises ticket sales will officially begin next June.
“We are very confident and eager to quickly fill the first cruises and even have a waiting list,” says the executive.
Follow cruise news at Cruisesnews.es
