The arrival of cruise ship Zenith marked the launch of the 2014 season at the port of Palamós and the Costa Brava. The ship made its first call with 1,610 mainly French passengers and 605 crew on board. Zenith arrived from Alicante and then set sail back to Marseilles, as part of an eight-day Mediterranean cruise calling at Gibraltar, Casablanca, Tangier, Alicante and Palamós.
Zenith is scheduled to call at Palamós five times this year, bringing more than 8,000 tourists to this Costa Brava port during the season. The 208-metre Maltese-flagged vessel has a beam of 29 metres, a draft of 8 metres and is listed at 47,413 gross tons.
Cruise ship Zenith, which operates in the French-speaking market as part of the Croisières de France line, forms part of the Pullmantur Group, which itself boasts a fleet of five vessels: Zenith, Horizon, Sovereign, Monarch and Empress. With the visits of Zenith and Horizon, two Pullmantur ships have now called at this Catalan port.
The inaugural call of Zenith is the first of 34 cruise liners which will call at Palamós this season. Of these calls, 62% of the ships will be carrying around 1,400 passengers, whilst the rest will have an average of 400 visitors on board.
During the 2014 season, the port of Palamós will welcome cruise liners Zenith, MSC Sinfonia and Star Flyer for the first time. What’s more, the luxury Paul Gauguin Cruises line has programmed its ship Tere Moana make her Palamós début.
Also impressive is the loyalty of many cruise lines that continue to visit Palamós, such as Pullmantur, Thomson Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Azamara Cruises, MSC and Star Clippers.
Palamós, Roses and Sant Carles de la Ràpita open record-breaking season due to welcome 53 calls and 41,000 passengers
Ports de la Generalitat have launched this year’s cruise season, which is due to welcome 53 ships and 41,000 passengers to the ports of Palamós, Roses and Sant Carles de la Ràpita. These figures represent a 32% increase in passenger numbers compared to 2013 and a 23% rise in calls. What’s more, the economic impact of cruise ships on the Costa Brava and Terres de l’Ebre is estimated to reach three million euros.
On the Costa Brava, the port of Palamós will welcome 36,000 passengers, up 20% on last year, spread out between 34 calls until 16th November. Meanwhile, the port of Roses is on course for spectacular growth, with 13 cruise ships calling at the town up to 16th October and a total of 4,000 passengers, four times more than last season. In the Terres de l’Ebre area, Sant Carles de la Ràpita will début as a cruise port this summer, with six calls and around one thousand passengers expected from 9th July onwards.
Cruise ship activity at the ports and resorts of Palamós, Roses and Sant Carles de la Ràpita is being promoted on various market-specific platforms under the brand names Costa Brava Cruise Ports and Delta Ebre Port. These brands are the result of a joint venture run by Ports de la Generalitat along with the Costa Brava-Girona Tourist Board, the Palamós and Roses town councils and the Palamós and Girona Chambers of Commerce in the case of Costa Brava Cruise Ports, and together with the Terres de l’Ebre Tourist Board, the Sant Carles de la Ràpita town council and the Tortosa Chamber of Commerce when it comes to Delta Ebre Port.
