Cruising

Alcudia will welcome a cruise ship today. It will be a rather important event because despite having a cruise ship terminal, only a small number of vessels actually visit. In fact, just a handful. Fast forward to Palma and the Port Authority is fighting a desperate battle with the Palma city council which wants to limit the number of visits by cruise ships. So why can´t Alcudia ease some of the pressure on Pama? Why doesn´t the Port Authority promote Alcudia as a serious alternative to Palma? Granted that Alcudia can only handle the smaller vessels but I think that Majorca is a missing a golden opportunity to open up the north of the island to cruise ships and provide valuable revenue. Obviously, Alcudia hasn´t the range of shops like Palma but it has other great attractions including a fantastic beach. Cruise ship passengers might even welcome the change of port venue. The present state of affairs which we are seeing can´t continue with even the city council looking at ways to limit cruise ship visits. But I do think that Palma is also missing a trick. A large number of vessels visit on a Sunday when the giant shopping centre, next to the port, is closed. I think with a bit of imagination and careful planning Majorca could become an international cruise ship hub. What the local authorities need to do is work with the cruise ship companies to ensure that there is a balanced number of vessels visiting the island.