The expedition cruise ship SH Vega, owned by Swan Hellenic and consigned by Pérez y CÍA, docked for the first time at the Santander Maritime Station this last sunday 19tg May. The ship arrived with 67 passengers, mostly Americans and Britons, and 122 crew members.
To commemorate this milestone, a delegation from Santander Cruise Deluxe, led by the President of the Santander Port Authority (APS), Cesar Diaz, presented Captain Svein-Rune Strommes with a commemorative plaque and several books about Santander and Cantabria for the onboard library.
Also participating in this event were the Director General of Tourism of the Government of Cantabria, Gustavo Cubero, and the Tourism Councilor of the Santander City Council, Francos Jose Airas.
The SH Vega, measuring 152 meters in length and with a draft of 5 meters, entered the port at 8 AM from Gijon and departed at 6 PM for Saint Malo. Once ashore, some of the passengers chose to go on excursions around the region, while others preferred to explore the city.
According to the APS, the Government of Cantabria and the Santander City Council have created the Santander Cruise Deluxe brand to manage cruise ship visits and boost cruise tourism. This entity aims to position Santander as a cruise destination and promote this type of tourism in Cantabria because, as the APS President stated, it is an industry that offers an opportunity to extend the tourism season.
Santander Cruise Deluxe is undertaking a series of initiatives, including attending trade fairs, providing personalized attention to cruise line itinerary planners, and implementing recommendations from the Impact Study and Roadmap they have developed. The goal is to reach 90,000 cruise passengers by 2030 and generate a direct economic impact of up to 24.1 million euros.
Additionally, this week Santander Cruise Deluxe has been present at the International Cruise Europe Conference held in Stockholm. They took the opportunity to invite itinerary planners from cruise companies to get to know Cantabria by participating in several familiarization trips, allowing them to experience the region firsthand.
The APS has indicated that Santander is expecting 21 cruise calls this year, compared to the 16 that took place in 2023.
