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Date Published: 05/07/2022

ARCHIVED - First luxury MSC Cruise liner departs from official new Spanish base port in Alicante

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Alicante is now one of the leading cruise liner's six offical base ports in Spain

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - First luxury MSC Cruise liner departs from official new Spanish base port in Alicante

Alicante marina has established itself as one of Spain's leading ports with the official inauguration of an agreement with MSC Cruise which has selected the city as the start point for one of its most emblematic ships.

The MSC Orchestra set sail from Alicante port on Monday July 4 on a voyage around the western Mediterranean visiting the cities of Genoa, Marseille, Olbia, Cadiz, Lisbon, Menorca and Malaga.

And MSC Cruises, the third largest cruise company in the world and market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa, plans to launch 12 similar voyages from Alicante this year.

The move is a welcome boost to local trade and business as it's hoped the 40,000 anticipated travellers who will board the liner on a dozen separate occasions with have "a significant impact on the city".

MSC has huge expectations for the summer season and since the start of the pandemic, has increased the number of home ports in Spain from three (Valencia, Barcelona and Mallorca) to six with the addition of Alicante, Malaga and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

And the company has plans to increase ship capacity in Alicante next summer. MSC Orchestra currently has capacity for 3,223 passengers and aprroximately 1,300 crew members.

Also read: Miami makeover at Alicante beach on hold due to cashflow problems

Head of MSC Cruises in Spain, Fernando Pacheco, said on Monday: "This is an important day as the city of Alicante will be the first base for our summer campaign," adding that the cruise company is "playing it safe", given that MSC has been operating in Valencia for 20 years and is "well aware of the potential of the Levante".

MSC Orchestra's tours of the Western Mediterranean are part of the company's strategic plan for growth in Spanish ports, and more than 400 stopovers in the country are scheduled before the end of 2022.

This places Spain as MSC's second largest market behind Italy, a major coup for Alicante.

In a concerted effort to attract new shipping companies to Alicante as a base port, the City & Beach Tourist Board attended the the Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami in April, the most important cruise fair in the world.

Tourism representatives from the Costa Blanca met with leading shipping companies such as Royal Caribean, Carnival Corporation and Disney Cruise Line, amongst others.

Deputy mayor and head of the tourist board, Mari Carmen Sánchez said at the time that MSC Cruises's commitment to Alicante as a home port with 12 departures this summer "opens up opportunities for us".

Now read: easyJet boss resigns amid Spanish cabin crew strike chaos

Images: Ayuntamiento de Alicante

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