Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - 14:38 by vigo
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.