Following a record 14 calls last year mainly from Japanese operators and Costa Cruises, more ships are expected in the 2018 season which started with a February 26 visit by Amadea.
The 500 plus, mainly German, passengers onboard were greeted with a traditional welcome ceremony, organized by cruise terminal operator, Vladivostok Sea Terminal, the ship’s agent and tour operators with the support of the Primorsky Territory Government.
Drummers, singers and dance groups from the Far Eastern State Technical Fisheries University performed an entertainment program for the visiting passengers and crew.
Free city maps, guidebooks and tourist information were provided by the Primorsky Region’s Tourist Information Center. A market selling traditional Russian souvenirs, located close to the berth, was also arranged.
On the shorex program passengers visited sites of local interest including Submarine S-56, Central Square, Fortress museum and Viewpoint Eagle Nest.
In 2018, Vladivostok is expecting to set another record with maiden visits by MSC Splendida, Costa Fortuna and Costa Serena plus the start of a new homeporting cruise operation featuring regular itineraries calling at Sokcho and Japanese ports. All visiting passengers are provided with a 72-hour tourist visa.
There is also a plan by the regional government to establish a local one-ship cruise company to operate itineraries both north to Sakhalin island and the Kamchatka peninsula and south to ports in neighboring countries.
Vladivostok port authority is planning dredging works at the passenger terminal’s berths during this year in order to be able to accommodate the largest cruise ships operating in NE Asia, such as Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum-class ships which it is hoping to draw as a customer on 7-night ex-China itineraries.
Vladivostok Sea Terminal is actively working to promote the port-city as a unique cruise destination for Asian itineraries. For the first time in 2017, Vladivostok participated in cruise industry events across Asia including the 4th Korea Cruise Travel Mart (Seoul, Korea), the 5th China International Cruise Summit (Qingdao, China) and Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific 2017 (Baoshan, Shanghai, China).
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