Cartagena among the ten most important ports in the Spanish port system
The Port of Cartagena is consolidated, as a stopover port for the Mediterranean and expects to receive 240,000 cruise ship tourists in 2019. During the year, 165 ships are expected to dock, 17 more than in 2018. These figures keep Cartagena among the ten most important ports in the Spanish port system.
The good figures collected in recent years have put the city in the eighth best position in the ranking of Spanish ports by number of cruise passengers over 2018. In first place, is Barcelona followed by the Balearic Islands, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Malaga, Valencia and Cadiz, according to the data from the State Ports. During the past year more than 230,000 tourists came to Cartagena via a cruise ship.
Segado said “a very good year begins today, in terms of cruise ships. On the one hand, the forecast of stopovers and passengers is the best in recent years, and that growth has been 25% year-on-year, something that is very difficult to achieve in this sector. On the other hand, it is the first time that we will have stopovers during all months of the year, managing to break with the seasonality of the winter months and attracting more tourists, mostly foreigners.”
This year’s season begins today with the Aidamar, with more than 2,500 passengers. The ship closed 2018 last 26 December and will return to the city during this month on two more occasions, specifically on 16 and 24. It belongs to the German shipping company Aida Cruises, it is the sixth in the company’s Sphinx class; it has 1,097 cabins (722 outside cabins) for 2,686 passengers, a total catering area of 4,323 square meters with seven restaurants and twelve cafeterias, a health and a beauty area of 2,602 square metres.
During January, more than 10,000 cruise passengers are expected on board 6 ships. In addition to Aidamar, MSC Sinfonia, Viking Sky and Saga Pearl II will also arrive. The forecasts for 2019 are the best in the history of the port of Cartagena with 165 confirmed stopovers and 240,000 passengers, which represents a new record in both stopovers and passengers. This year 3 shipping companies and 17 ships will visit us for the first time, particularly mentioning the Disney Magic stopover on 24 May.
The busiest months will be May and October, as usual. May will be the month with the most cruise activity, as 27 ships with 40,000 passengers are expected. During the year there will be 28 double stopovers, 5 triple and one quadruple on 12 September. The last stop of the year will be closed again by Aidamar on 25 December.
