Port of Palma is cruising

Over the next four days, a record 11 cruise ships will put in to the Port of Palma with a total 12'300 passengers on board. According to the Balearic Port Authority, the figures represent a 10 percent increase in cruise traffic. Between this morning and Sunday night, nearly 40 years of cruise line history will moor up in Palma. The oldest of the cruise ships arriving this weekend is the Costa Riviera which was built in Italy in 1963. The 30'000 tonne ship with 1'472 people on board arrives this morning, along with two Thomson cruise ships Emerald and Topaz, the luxury Vistamar, the French-built Melody and the biggest of the 11 cruise liners to sail into port, Costa Victoria. The 74'000 tonne Costa Victoria was built in Germany in 1996 and can accommodate 2'259 passengers with 800 crew. Tomorrow the 193-metre, 38'600 tonne Aida visits Palma with 1'230 passengers on board. She is always a wonderful spectacle because her hull is exclusively painted with scenes from the opera Verdi. Three more cruise ships will sail into Palma on Saturday, the Carousel with 1'202 passengers and 400 crew on board, followed by Sunbird and the Seaborne Goddess II which is one of the most luxurious cruise ships to have visited Palma. With just 116 passengers on board accommodated in 59 suites she is one of the most exclusive cruise ships afloat.