Riga anticipates record season, welcomes 10 millionth passengerRiga anticipates record season, welcomes 10 millionth passenger

Record calls

If Riga receives the number of calls it estimates, it will surpass figures for the 2019 season by a quarter. Of these, 13 will be calling at the port for the first time and around 20 have stayed or will stay in Riga for more than one day.

As for passengers, more than 80,000 international tourists will visit the port this season.

Over the past seven months, 63 cruise ships have called in Riga carrying 42,880 passengers, most of them from Germany (18,400) and the USA (9,700), as well as from Great Britain, Sweden and Canada.

The season ends during October.

10 millionth passenger

Tanja Cassandra Karina Bittner from Weiherhammer, Bavaria was the 10 millionth passenger to arrive in Riga having set off from Kiel on a Baltic Sea cruise. She arrived August 7 aboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Fascinosa, and was met by the mayor for Riga Mārtiņš Staķis and Freeport of Riga Authority’s (FRA) chairman Viesturs Zeps and its CEO Ansis Zeltiņš.

Along with other passengers, Bittner was also greeted by Latvian music group DAGAMBA who delivered a concert at the berth before she and her family were given a special evening entertainment programme - a gift from the FRA.

They visited Old Riga, Riga Central Market and experienced local cuisine as part of a sightseeing tour.

An ‘important milestone’

‘It is always a great pleasure to be in beautiful Riga and an honor to witness this important milestone for Riga Port,’ said capt. of Costa Fascinosa, Mario Moretta. ‘This city is a very well appreciated destination – and part of the reason why our guests, especially German, choose their Costa cruise in Northern Europe.’

He added, ‘We are extremely happy that the 10 millionth passenger at Riga Port is travelling with us on Costa Fascinosa. Congratulations to Riga Port for this incredible achievement and we are looking forward to being back again in the Latvian capital.’

Costa Cruises first arrived in Riga in 2005 and since then, eight different Costa Cruises ships have called on 52 occasions, carrying almost 145,000 passengers.

Of the 8,200 overall number of passenger ships that have been registered in the port from 2000, 1,600 have been from cruise ships carrying 1.2m passengers from more than 124 countries. Since then, the destination has welcomed more than 200 different cruise ships.

Other significant calls

Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas visited Riga for the first time this year. At 138,194gt and 311 mtr it is the biggest vessel ever received by the port by way of volume. The longest ship to call was Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Silhouette in 2017, measuring 319mtr.

Costa Cruises’ Costa Pacifica brought with it the most passengers at one time, with 3,523 onboard. It has called at the port  37 times since 2011, carrying 115,700 passengers.