Good day to all – trusting the brilliant summer weather has resulted in much enjoyment despite restrictions.
It will have been noted the cruise ships visiting Cartagena have been few and far between due to the disastrous COVID situation.
Aida and TUI have placed a small number of vessels through our Port recently with passengers permitted ashore in groups, all escorted with access to local restaurant/bars/shops strictly curtailed. There were itineraries mentioned on a number of sites, including details of vessel visits to Cartagena, but changed at short notice due to COVID restrictions.
A number of ships are scheduled during the following few weeks, but time will tell whether the calls will materialise. Meanwhile I will contribute details of ships that visited previously, hoping we soon revert to regular vessel visits as previously, featuring in the first instance of MSC Poesia who visited two years previously – September 27th 2019.
Owned and operated by MSC Cruises and built in 2008 it was the first ship in the fleet to have been officially named outside Italy. The ceremony was held at Dover on 5th April 2008 by Sophia Loren.
MSC Cruises, a global cruise line registered in Switzerland, based in Geneva, is reportedly the world’s largest privately-held cruise company and in 2017 was the fourth-largest cruise company in the world after Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
In 1988, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) entered the cruise business operating two ships, MS Angelina Lauro and MS Achille Lauro. The company was initially named StartLauro Cruises, but in 1995 the company was renamed MSC Cruises.