- Palamós and Roses foresee 61 calls, around 53,000 passengers and an estimated economic impact of €5.1 M
- The Viking Saturn cruise ship starts the season with 900 passengers
- The Port of Palamós anticipates 52 cruise calls and around 51,500 passengers this season
The Ports of Palamós and Roses expect 61 cruise calls with around 53,000 passengers in the 2024 season. Translated into percentages, a 1.3% increase in passengers and a 15% increase in stopovers is expected, compared to the 2023 season. Palamós started the season on 1 April, and Roses is starting on Wednesday, 1 May.
The economic impact of the cruise activity in the territory is estimated at 5.1 million euros, according to a study carried out by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which estimates that each passenger who stops over at a port to visit the destination, spends an average of €90. In addition, €6 has been added per passenger in terms of expenditure linked to the ship in regard of port services.
The Ports of Palamós and Roses receive cruise ships from the North American and European markets. This season, 50% of the cruise ships that will call belong to the North American market and the remaining 50% to the European market. Combining the ports of Palamós and Roses, six cruise ships will be calling for the first time.
52 cruise calls in Palamós
The Port of Palamós anticipates the arrival of around 51,500 passengers and 52 cruise calls in 2024, which means a 6% more calls and a 1% fewer passengers compared to last year.
This year, the cruise season at the Port of Palamós will last eight months. It started on 1 April, with the maiden call of the Viking Saturn, and it is expected to end on 24 November with the visit of the Seabourn Sojourn. 57% of the cruise ships will arrive in low season and the remaining 43% in high season. This year four ships will be calling the port for the first time: the Silver Ray, the Spirit of Discovery, the Viking Saturn and the Viking Sea.
Viking Saturn
The Viking Saturn opened the 2024 cruise season on 1st April on Costa Brava when it made its inaugural call at the Port of Palamós, which is why representatives of Costa Brava Cruise Ports, headed by the Director General of Ports de la Generalitat, Annabel Moreno i Nogué, the Mayor of Palamós, Lluís Puig i Martorell, the Mayor of Roses, Josep Maria Martínez Chinchilla, the President of the Girona Chamber of Commerce, Jaume Fàbrega Vilà, the Deputy of the Girona Provincial Council, representing the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, Maria Puig i Ferrer, and the Palamós Tourism Councillor, Antoni Bachiller Puig, commemorate the first visit with a Plaque Exchange Ceremony on board the ship, as is tradition for a cruise ship’s maiden call.
The ship arrived at 9:00 a.m. from the French port of Marseille and set sail at 8:00 p.m. for the Port of Barcelona. It carried 900 passengers, mostly Americans, followed by Canadians and Australians. In addition to visiting Palamós, the cruise passengers wanted to take a closer look at the medieval towns of Pals and Peratallada, Figueres, Empúries and Tossa de Mar, as well as taking DO Empordà wine routes in the area wineries.
The ship, under Norwegian flag, took a one-week cruise that sailed from Rome (Italy) then visited Florence (Italy), Nice (France), Marseille (France), Palamós and Barcelona. This vessel has a length of 228.40 meters, a beam of 28.8 meters, a draft of 6.65 meters and 47,842 GT.
