Five cruise lines visited the Maltese port on 22 July, bringing more than 14,000 passengers
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Valletta Cruise Port in Malta handled a record five cruise ships, more than 14,000 passengers and 5,000 crew members on 22 July.
Hailing from five different cruise lines, the ships covered a total quay length of 1.37km. They included MSC Cruises’ MSC Fantasia, Pullmantur Cruises’ Zenith, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Jade, Costa Cruises’ Costa NeoRiviera and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Equinox.
Passengers and crew were welcomed into the city by an Inguardia re-enactment on the quayside, which was organised by the Malta Tourism Authority.
“We had the opportunity to showcase the highlights of our islands to over 14,000 cruise passengers and more than 5,000 crew members that are all potential repeat visitors to the Maltese Islands and who can decide to return to our shores for a longer stay in the near future,” said Edward Zammit Lewis, Minister for Tourism. “Undoubtedly, many of them shall also be sharing their experiences through social media thereby reaching out to many others who can also be enticed to choose our islands as their next destination of choice.”
Valletta Cruise Port is expected to handle a record number of cruise ships this year as both the cruise port and the Ministry for Tourism have increased their efforts to attract cruise passengers to Malta and Gozo. The port authority has also made significant investments to improve security and enable it to handle larger passenger volumes.
“The positive reviews by passengers and cruise lines alike are testament to the effort going into making a stay in Malta a positive and enjoyable experience,” said Stephen Xuereb, CEO of Valletta Cruise Port. “Valletta needs to continue to cater for such peaks in demand with further investment in quay infrastructure in the Grand Harbour area.”