Klaipeda has kicked off this year’s cruise season as Ambience, a ship owned by Ambassador Cruise Holidays in the UK, docked at the port’s cruise terminal on Tuesday.
The Klaipeda State Seaport Authority has forecast in a new release that during this season, which will continue until mid-October 63 cruise ships are scheduled to visit the port city in Lithuania.
The authority’s CEO, Algis Latakas, notes that the early start to the cruise season is yet another sign that ports must adapt to rapidly changing market trends.
Ambience brought nearly 1,300 passengers to Klaipeda, and most of them were British.
According to a news release, the ship was built in 1991 and renovated in 2002. It features state-of-the-art ballast and wastewater treatment systems and mostly sails routes across Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, Norwegian fjords and the British isles.
Nearly 40% of the ships due to arrive in Klaipeda this year will be more than 290 metres in length. The largest will be Mein Schiff 7, which first visited Klaipeda last year, as well as Mein Schiff 1. Both ships are 316 metres long and can accommodate some 3,000 tourists and 1,000 crew members apiece.
Eight ships will be docking at Klaipeda for the first time this year, including vessels from two new cruise lines – SeaDream Yacht Club and Atlas Ocean Voyages.
Nearly 70 cruise ships have signalled an interest in stopping at Klaipeda in 2026.
According to the port authority, Klaipeda hosted 63,000 passengers on 53 cruise ships last year.
Source: BNS
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