The cruise ship docked with more than 1250 passengers on board. The vessel, which remained at the Maritime Station until 11:00 PM, belongs to the german luxury cruise company «Phoenix Reisen» and carried mostly german passengers along with 537 crew members.
The President of the Port Authority of Santander (APS), César Díaz, highlighted the importance of this type of traffic in contributing to the promotion of tourism, a «fundamental» industry for the economy of Cantabria. A significant number of the cruise passengers plan to take panoramic excursions around the city of Santander. With its length of over 230 meters, the Artania, coming from La Coruña, departed for Bilbao around 11:00 PM.
For APS President, César Díaz, cruise traffic is not only «fundamental» for promoting tourism but also contributes to the seasonality of one of the «key» industries in the economic development of Cantabria. «In addition to the undeniable tourist attractions that the region offers, we have a Maritime Station located in a privileged place,» Díaz added. This combination places us «in an excellent position» to compete with other northern ports for this type of traffic.
Díaz also highlighted the work of «Santander Cruise Deluxe», a commission created by APS, the Government of Cantabria, and the Santander City Council to organize cruise ship stopovers and promote cruise tourism with the goal of attracting new traffic to the region, as a «clear example of institutional collaboration.»
The cruise season in Cantabria will end on November 17th with the cruise ship «Bolette». Next week, Santander will receive a visit from the Ventura cruise ship, which will arrive in Santander for the sixth time this year. With these two stops, the number of cruises that have visited Cantabria this year will be sixteen, and nineteen are confirmed for 2024.