Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 08:18 by vigo
The Port of Vigo has been the last call of the long awaited first visit of Oasis of the Seas to Europe. After the mass welcome given by the city on her first call, the 27th of September, this second call, on October, 18th, has proved again the warm reception that both the Port and the citizens give to cruise visitors. Hosting more than 7,500 tourists and several thousands of curious people more, eager to contemplate the giant of the seas, has proved the efficacy of the Port’s Cruise Terminal in terms of security and availability of services to passengers and crew members.
The pleasant weather and the 12 hours long call have allowed cruise guests not only to meet the appealing shore excursion offer, but also to enjoy the Old Town, taste the well known local seafood and Albariño white wine or go shopping in the city very centre located next to the Cruise Terminal. As it was in the previous call, culture and traditional music has been again present through live performances of important local Bagpipe Bands such as ‘LEDICIA’, from the Official Bagpipe School of Vigo, that gave Oasis and her guests and crew an emotional farewell at the end of their last European call on their way back to the Caribbean.
Independent studies from the University of Vigo have estimated the economic return for the city of both calls over one million euros aside from the tourist impact arising from the media exposure due to the fact of the being one of the few European Ports selected to host Oasis of the Seas.
This call states the good relationship between Royal Caribbean and the Port of Vigo, shown these late years through more than 100 calls of Independence, besides the Adventure or Navigator ones among others, and that next 2015 will take one step more with the visit of Anthem of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas.
During the call, the Chairman of the Port of Vigo, Mr. Ignacio López-Chaves Castro, has count on the presence of sibling Portuguese Port of Lisbon representatives that have witnessed the whole operation of berthing, embarking and disembarking procedures and security arrangements and enjoyed a visit to the ship. A subsequent meeting among the authorities of both Ports has laid the foundations for an agreement between both Ports to promote Atlantic European cruise traffic.
