40,000 tourists heading to Mallorca by sea this month

A new feature observed in these visits compared to previous years is the double stopover every Friday of the MSC Fantasia and MSC Orchestra. This is the first time that a shipping line has used two large-capacity units on the same day during the low season. And this month they will make a total of 10 visits over the five weekends.

After the unplanned stay of the Italian shipping line's new flagship, the MSC World Europa, on the 29th, another mega-cruise ship, powered by clean energy, is expected this month. This is the gigantic Sun Princess on its maiden voyage, on the 10th. It is another state-of-the-art unit with spectacular facilities for more than 4,000 cruise passengers.

One ship maintaining its weekly winter activity has been the Costa Smeralda, with two visits this month. In addition to these rotating cruises, in March there were four other calls in charge of units destined for the British market. This is the case of the Bolette, which arrived on Friday and represents the most notable acquisition by Fred. Olsen, along with the Borealis, with the aim of implementing its capacity. Both come from the legendary Holland America Line and evoke the ambience of the great ocean liners of yesteryear. They replace a duo of pioneering cruise ships from the 1970s from Royal Viking.

Another British firm with a traditional flavour, Saga, has announced the visit of the Spirit of Adventure on the 13th, a newly built unit which, together with a sister ship, replaces two original Norwegian America veterans. The Spirit of Adventure is inspired by the spirit of Norwegian America's middle-aged clientele, who prefer a more conventional type of holiday at sea. Finally, the historic P&O, in the hands of the American group Carnival Corp. will be present on the 24th with the Azura, another mega-cruise ship with a capacity for more than three thousand tourists.

As far as the Palma-based vessels are concerned, only the British Marella Explorer 2 is expected to call in, operated by Tui. With regard to the nationality of the ships announced, the Italian nationality stands out in first place, accounting for 70% of the total, followed by the British, with the remaining 30%. There was also a notable absence of Germans, the majority in the high season. The greatest increase in the number of visits will occur with the arrival of spring, when the cruise ships based in Palma start operating again.