A record year for cruise ships in Palma had been forecast.

A record year for cruise ships in Palma had been forecast. | Archive

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma27/04/2020 10:47
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The current forecast for loss of cruise ship activity in Palma is put at 60%, which equates to some 350 ship stopovers and a million passengers.

The Balearic Ports Authority indicates that there have been massive cancellations until the end of August. As the regional government's stance is that ports and airports should be the last things to be reopened, there is no certainty as to when cruise activity might resume.

All the cruise lines are obviously affected. In the case of one, Costa Cruises, the suspension of operations is at present until the end of May, although plans to restart these operations in June will clearly depend on authorities in different countries. Cruise ships arriving in Palma in June is inconceivable; the same would go for all Spanish ports.

The Chamber of Commerce in Majorca says that the cruise industry will have to wait until there are protocols in place. The CLIA Cruise Lines Association acknowledges that health issues must come first. Companies are therefore waiting to know what the protocols and requirements will be, an expectation being that these will include limiting passenger capacity.