Port accessThe MS Bolette, owned by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and with A. Pérez y Cía. acting as agents, has arrived at 08.00 this morning at the Bilbao Port Authority cruise ship terminal in Getxo. Many of the 925 passengers on board the vessel, the last cruise ship to call at the Port of Bilbao this year, will go on excursions to San Sebastián and Bilbao, where they will have the opportunity to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere of the capital of Bizkaia and visit its flea market. A free shuttle service will be offered throughout the day with stops at the metro stations in Getxo. Many other passengers will also visit Bizkaia of their own accord, mostly the town of Getxo itself.
The Bolette will depart at around 20:30 for Liverpool, bringing to an end another excellent cruise ship season for the Port of Bilbao that began on 5 April and which has seen the arrival and departure of 81 cruise ships, ranging in length from 126 to 348 metres, and carrying a total of some 140,000 passengers. With one more cruise ship than last year, this season has once again broken records. In terms of nationalities, most passengers have been from the UK (43.5%), the USA (22%) and Germany (19%).
In the course of the season, ten cruise ships have visited the Basque Country for the first time, and the two companies with the most stopovers have been Carnival, with 16 cruise ships, and Royal Caribbean, with 14. With six stopovers, the Anthem of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, is the cruise ship that has visited the Port of Bilbao the most, followed by the AIDAsol, of AIDA Cruises, and the MS Ambition, operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, both with four stopovers.
Special mention is to be made of the boarding operation of the Sea Cloud Spirit, owned by Sea Cloud Cruises, and of eight cruise ships that have stayed overnight, one of them on its maiden voyage (the Villa Vie Odyssey, of Villa Vie Residences). September saw the visit of three cruise ships and a yacht on the same day. The ships with the largest capacity have been the Iona, of P&O, with 6,301 passengers on board, and the MSC Virtuosa, owned and operated by MSC Cruises, with 5,848.
The forecasts for 2025 are excellent, with 2024 figures set to be exceeded. The Bilbao Port Authority is delighted with the consolidation of this type of traffic, which has a significant economic impact for the province of Bizkaia and for the Basque Country itself. Furthermore, in 2025, three cruise ships, namely the MSC Poesía, owned by MSC Cruises, the Vista, operated by Oceania Cruises of Hapag Lloyd, and the MS Europa 2, also of Hapag Lloyd, will be embarking passengers in Getxo, which will increase the impact of cruise ship traffic in the coming season.
