VIGO welcomes HARMONY OF THE SEAS and THOMSON SPIRIT

22/11/2016

VIGO Shipbuilding and Repair Industry heading to Cruise market

Shipbuilding and repair has historically been a powerful industry at the Port of Vigo. Originally based on fishing vessels building, Vigo shipyards and dockyards growing business allowed them to develop their infrastructures and to improve their staff qualification and boost their expertise, until reaching 40% of the Spanish civilian shipbuilding industry in the mid 2000’s. After that period, to counteract the competition of East Europe and Asian countries, these companies focused precisely on their specialization and expertise and turn to technologically advanced vessels, oceanographic and seismographic ships, or offshore support vessels, among others. During the 6th edition of NAVALIA, Vigo biannual International Shipbuilding Exhibition, that took place last May, local industry aimed at cruise building as one of their future targets, namely Luxury Cruise Ship design and building. Since then, several Vigo based shipyards have announced the signing of projects related to this niche market for the next future. On the meantime, Cruise & Maritime’s premium-rated cruise ship Astoria is already berthed at Vigo for a three month stay to undergo minor refurbishment works afloat prior to her 2017 spring season, when she will be based in Tilbury, cruising the English Channel and the Baltic. This will be an excellent opportunity for all Vigo shipyards and ancillary industry to prove and promote their quality, efficiency and reliability to cruise industry.

01/06/2016

VIGO welcomes HARMONY OF THE SEAS and THOMSON SPIRIT

Once more, Vigo has been one of the few European chosen ports to host one of the cruise industry long awaited events of the season: the maiden voyage of Royal Caribbean’s new jewel of the Crown, Harmony of the Seas; a chance only available for major and easy-to-access ports, given her dimension and features. As in previous special occasions, the Port and the whole city of Vigo will show their very commitment to cruise traffic in a welcome reception that will include special pier decorations, cultural events and leisure options available during her 10 hours call. The Port Authority leads a welcoming program that counts on the collaboration of all local and regional Institutional and Tourism authorities, strongly involved in the development of the Port of Vigo as a cruise destination. Apart from the institutional plaque exchange ceremony between the ship and the local authorities, traditional bagpipes music folk bands will accompany the early arrival of Harmony of the Seas, and the during whole day plenty of other cultural and welcoming events will take place in the Port’s central area, a place exclusively devoted to cruise traffic located in the heart of the city. The farewell will be the highest point of the day, when hundreds of people are expected to say goodbye to Harmony of the seas from the quay while local bands perform traditional music and dancing under a 2,000 balloon release and Vigo tugs spraying water celebrating the call. Past experiences including two calls of sibling RCCL Oasis of the Seas or triple and quadruple calls involving up to 12.000 passengers on a single day have already successfully tested the infrastructures and efficiency of the Port of Vigo in dealing with high numbers of cruise visitors. On this occasion, the Harmony of the Seas will be joined by Thomson Spirit in a double cruise call that will bring to the Port and the City around 6,500 passengers and more than 9,000 total cruise visitors.

29/04/2016

May is the month of... VIGO!

May will be the best month of the Port of Vigo 2016 cruise season: more than 45.000 visitors, 32.000 passengers and 16 calls, including 3 inaugural, 4 doubles and the return of embarking/disembarking calls to Vigo. After a successful 2015 that has meant the return of the Port of Vigo to the figures over 200,000 passengers, reaching at the end of the season more than 204.000 passengers, 2016 early season highlights included Celebrity Silhouette inaugural call as well as other important visitors as Emerald Princess, P&O Ventura, MSC Splendida and Musica or Costa Luminosa, among others; but it is with the arrival of May that cruise traffic at Vigo will reach is peak this year. On the one hand, May landmarks have to do with inaugural calls of highly anticipated cruise ships like RCCL Ovation of the Seas and HAL Koningsdam. Ovation of the Seas will call Vigo in a double inaugural call with Grand Circle Travel Corinthian. After 10 calls of sibling Anthem of the Seas in 2015, Vigo will be the second call of the new third member of RCCL Quantum Class on her inaugural 52-night Global Odyssey cruise from the Port of Southampton to Tianjin, her 2016 Summer Home Port in China. Barely a week afterwards, Holland America Line MS Koningsdam, the largest ship ever built by HAL, will call at the Port of Vigo on her way to Rotterdam for her gala christening. As usual, the Port Authority will develop a special welcome program for the three inaugural calls, including institutional plaque exchange ceremonies and cultural and festive activities. On the other hand, the first of May, in a double call with Silversea Silver Explorer, MSC Opera will recover Vigo as a turnaround port in a cruise to the North of Europe recalling 2013 and 2014 seasons. This is very important news for the port of Vigo, because it confirms its suitability and possibilities to become a regular interporting port of call, after past experiences by MSC and Iberocruceros and with future projects like Pullmantur’s, that will begin also this year with its flagship Monarch, that will embark more than 800 passengers in Vigo in June.