The 3months of summer we hardly see any cruise ships, maybe 2-4 a month.
The Port of Funchal expects to have August with the most stopovers in the last 10 years this year. The first of eight calls scheduled for this month in the Ports of Madeira takes place this Friday, August 5, in the Port of Funchal, with the arrival of the luxury cruise ship ‘Nautica’.
In 2015, the Port of Funchal registered seven stopovers, in 2012 there were three, 2013 four, 2014 five, 2016 six and in 2017, 2018 and 2019 only three stopovers. In 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic, there was no stopover in August, as in other months of those years, since the recovery in the ports of Madeira took place, practically, from October 2021.
This August, the seven stopovers planned for Funchal, and there is a cruise ship on the island of Porto Santo, – which happens for the first time in 10 years – totaling eight stopovers this month in the Ports of Madeira. .
In addition to the ‘Nautica’ this Friday, the ‘Deutschland’ ships, on the 9th of August in Porto Santo and the 10th in Funchal, the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and the ‘MSC Virtuosa’ on the 18th, the ‘Enchanted Princess’ on 22nd, the ‘Ventura’ on 24th and the ‘Seven Seas Navigator’ on 29th.
The months of August, June and July mark the low season for the Ports of Madeira, as well as for the Ports of the Canary Islands, partners in the ‘Cruise in the Atlantic Island’ brand, created by the Port Authorities of the two regions in 1994.
The ‘Nautica’ comes from Lisbon with 612 passengers and 403 crew. It makes a 10-hour stopover in Funchal and leaves Madeira at 5:00 pm, bound for La Palma.
With a tonnage of 30,277 tonnes, ‘Nautica’, one of Oceania Cruises’ seven small and luxurious ships, began service in 2000, was refurbished in 2022 and has a capacity of 656 passengers, according to the company’s website.