Port accessThe Port Authority will be promoting the Basque Country this month at Europe’s most important cruise fair, and Bilbao will be a port of embarkation
In a year that has been excellent both for tourism generally in the Basque Country and specifically for tourists visiting us by sea, September will see more cruise ships stopping over at the Port of Bilbao than ever before in one month. 20 of the 80 cruise ships that will dock in 2023 at the facilities that the Port Authority has in Getxo for this type of traffic are scheduled to arrive in September, which confirms the interest that Bizkaia and the Basque Country now have for cruise tourism and the excellent opinion held by the different companies of the facilities and services offered by the port, both for the cruise ships themselves and for their passengers.
The month began with the arrival, for the first time in Bilbao, of the Disney Dream cruise ship of the Disney company, 339 metres long and with a capacity for 4,000 passengers. The MSC Fantasia, 333 metres long and with a capacity for 4,363 passengers, will also make its first visit to Bilbao, arriving to the port on 6 September. The same day will also see the arrival of the Star Legend of the Windstar Cruises shipping company, 159 metres long and with a capacity for 312 passengers. This vessel, which already called at Bilbao last May, will spend the night in the port before continuing its voyage the following day.
Passenger embarkation and disembarkation
Also on 7 September, the Norwegian Gem will set off on a cruise which starts and finishes in Getxo. The itinerary of the cruise ship belonging to Norwegian Cruise Line will take passengers to some of the most emblematic cities in Northern Europe, such as Bordeaux, Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Paris, Lisbon, Vigo and A Coruña, without the need to unpack, pack or carry luggage, before returning to Getxo on 19 September and departing again on the same day, this time for Civitavecchia in Rome, where the vessel will arrive on 1 October after calling at Lisbon, Portimao, Cadiz, Gibraltar, Motril, Ibiza, Palma, Saint Tropez and La Spezia.
This September, ships such as the Norwegian Getaway, the Seven Seas Voyager, the Azamara Journey and Seven Seas Splendor will also be calling at the Getxo
terminal of the port of Bilbao, together with vessels from companies such as Regent 7 Seas, Azamara, Celebrity Cruises, Aida Cr. (Carnival) and Silver Cruises (RCCL), amongst others, represented by Incargo, MSC, Bergé, Marmedsa, Pérez y Cía. and Transcoma.
Seatrade Europe 2023
The Port Authority of Bilbao will once again be present at Seatrade Europe, the leading cruise tourism event in Europe to be held in Hamburg and which, from 6 to 8 September, will bring together professionals from the sector, including representatives from 25 international cruise companies, and will include an exhibition area with representation from over 250 firms.
In addition to welcoming visitors at the stand of Puertos del Estado / the Spanish State Ports Authority and Cruise Europe, the delegation from the Port of Bilbao will hold a series of meetings with shipowners and other professionals of the sector to promote Bilbao, Bizkaia and the Basque Country as an attractive destination for cruise tourism, and to present the advantages and innovative features that Bilbao has to offer for this type of traffic.
