More than 6,000 people will pass through the port of Funchal today thanks to the presence of four cruise ships. The ‘Amadea’ arrived yesterday, staying overnight in the region with 503 passengers and 309 crew members, while the ‘Queen Victoria’ and the ‘Explora I’ docked this morning.
According to a statement from APRAM, the most recent arrivals involve two ships geared towards a premium clientele, joined in the early afternoon by the ‘Artania’ with 1,559 people on board, including 1,047 passengers and 512 crew members.
In the case of the ‘Queen Victoria’, it arrived at 6:15 am, with 1,919 passengers and 1,001 crew members, commanded by Captain Martin Sharples. The voyage began on October 24th in Southampton, United Kingdom, and ends in the same port on November 6th. It is a North Atlantic cruise that has already visited the Azores (Terceira and São Miguel islands) before arriving in Funchal. From there, it departs at 5:30 pm towards Leixões, followed by Vigo before returning to Southampton.
Meanwhile, the ‘Explora I’ carried 1,251 people on board, of which 607 are passengers and 644 are crew members, with the Italian Diego Michelozzi as captain. It entered Funchal Bay at 7:00 AM, coming from the Spanish port of Cádiz, and will depart for Antigua at 6:00 PM. Managed by JFM Shipping, the MSC Cruises ship, under the MSC Explora Journeys brand, was built two years ago in the Italian Fincantieri shipyards and cost 495 million euros.
He is currently on a 25-day Atlantic repositioning cruise, after having spent the last few months cruising the Mediterranean. He started on October 18th in Venice, and has already passed through Croatia (Dubrovnik), Montenegro (Kotor), Italy (Sorrento, Rome and Livorno), Monaco, Spain (Barcelona and Cádiz) and after Funchal he will continue to Antigua (St. John’s), the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and finally Miami (United States).
The Artania, handled by Blatas agency, entered the port at 1 pm – roughly at the same time that the Amadea was heading to Santa Cruz de la Palma (Canary Islands) – coming from Paia da Vitória (Azores). With Norwegian Morten Arne Hansen as captain, the ship will spend the night at Pier 6.
It is a ship with 41 years of service, built in Finland, and operated by Poenix Reisen. It is on an 18-day voyage that began in Bremen, Germany, and ends in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. It has already passed through Southampton (United Kingdom), Leixões, São Miguel, Faial, Terceira, and from Funchal it will continue to Morocco, and then Malaga and Cartagena.