Remember all these passengers are paying 2 euros to leave the ship, so this is money coming into the island. Where it goes is another question which I have no answers for.
The Port of Funchal is receiving four cruise ships throughout the day, carrying more than 16,600 people, the majority of whom are passengers: 12,572.
With the ‘Hebridean Sky’ at Pier 6 since Sunday afternoon, the first to arrive this Monday was the ‘AIDAcosma’, with 5,579 passengers and 1,456 crew members. The ship, handled by Blatas, entered the city’s bay at 6:00 am, coming from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and will remain until the end of the night (10:30 pm), then heading to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is concluding a week-long cruise between the Canary Islands and Madeira, which began on December 3rd in Tenerife, passed through Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, and ends on Wednesday in Tenerife.
The ‘Azura’, carrying 4,102 people (2,961 passengers and 1,141 crew), began its docking maneuvers at Pontinha at 7:00 am, Coming from Santa Cruz de Tenerife and scheduled to depart at 10:00 pm for Fuerteventura, the ship, managed by Blatas, is undertaking a 14-day cruise along the Cruise Atlantic Islands (CAI) itinerary. It began on November 28th in Tenerife, then stopped in Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife, and again Funchal. From there it continues to Fuerteventura, La Palma, and finally, on December 12th, concludes its journey in Tenerife.
Finally, at 10:45 pm, the ‘Mein Schiff Relax’ arrives, which will spend the night at the tip of the port. The ship no longer encounters the ‘Hebridean Sky’, which departs at 7:00 pm towards Safi, Morocco. It was a stopover by Wilhelmsen, which brought 167 people to Madeira, of which 95 were passengers and 72 were crew members.
The ‘Relax’ has 3,937 passengers and 1,413 crew members on board. The port call is handled by JFM Shipping, and the ship arrives from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, continuing its journey to Santa Cruz de La Palma on Tuesday. This is another cruise on the CAI itinerary, starting and ending in Tenerife.
Tomorrow these ships will be joined by ‘Viking Sky’ and ‘Marella Voyager’, which are bringing nearly four thousand people to spend the day in the region.