Cruise liners in Los Cristianos as from November

[aspasia]

As part of the revamp of Los Cristianos harbour, the town will be able to receive cruise liners from November. The first will be the Sea Cloud, on 10, 16 and 18 November, it was announced by Ports Authority president, Pedro Rodríguez Zaragoza, accompanied by Arona mayor, José Alberto González Reverón, together with Alberto Galván, commercial director of the Autoridad Portuaria and Marta Melo, Los Cristianos councillor. More will follow in 2013, with the Albatros in April of that year. Sr Zaragoza said that he is in negotiations with Royal Caribbean and other European lines to attract them to Los Cristianos. The future is looking good, he said, with all the commercial benefits to the town that cruise passengers will bring. [countdown=MONTH,DAY,YEAR,HOUR,MINUTE]JAA[/countdown]

[Janet]

I haven't had confirmation that this has actually happened, but the first cruise liner into Los Cristianos was due today. Its arrival was scheduled for midday and it was expected to leave at 4pm. Meanwhile, Santa Cruz saw five cruise liners docked in its own port, with some 16,000 on board. They were welcomed into the town with music and arts and crafts stalls. JA

[Janet]

Well they wanted big, and today they got the World! One of the most exclusive cruise liners in the world, The World (pictured below), has dropped anchor just off Los Cristianos and will remain there for the next 24 or so hours before heading for Gran Canaria. The ship is privately owned and the 150 or so apartments on board are leased to exactly the sort of tourists the Canarian Government has been after. If this isn't "up-market", nothing is. Let's hope they redistribute some of their wealth while they're in the Canaries! JA



And let's not forget the obligatory photo op ... Arona Mayor Niño and president of Puertos de Tenerife, Pedro Rodríguez Zaragoza, on board the ship ...

[Michael]

I couldn't get over it when it came to Belfast. I mean, Belfast? 

If i'd looked out from my multi-million-dollar suite and found myself in Belfast, i'd have been wondering, 'WTF?' 

[Guanche]

Sorry but 'All fur and no knickers' as my father used to say. These passangers do little to nothing for the economy of the island. A few taxis reap the odd reward as do a couple of bus companies for the 'Tour' Other than that they tend to walk around. A quick look in Zara or Mango even as far as H&M, maybe buy a cup of coffee or if their feeling extravagant a bottle of water or a fridge magnet which was made in China. Then its back to the boat. Oh! the port authority's get a fee for the pilot and mooring charge. We have watched them for the past ten years or so. They march off the boat and they march back on with little more in their hands than when they arrived. They do make the place look busy though and of course they boost the official numbers of visitors to the island

Sorry to be so negative.

[Perikles]

Sorry to be so negative.

I just think you are being completely realistic. I don't imagine anybody from the boat is going to spend a day wandering around and admiring the sights in Los Cristianos, or hanging around a Brit bar watching football on a big screen or joining in the karaoke. Or shopping. Perhaps they need new sunglasses...

[Delderek]

Maybe you are only half right. Compared with many other cruise line destinations Los Cris is a bit of a gem. Santa cruz for instance is a working dock area and a fair trot to find any local atmosphere. Palma Majorca very similar. At least with los Cris you have lots of cafe/bars as soon as you get ashore, and the town itself still has a bit of local atmosphere, albeit a bit tatty in places, and this is what cruise passengers want,,to mix with the phlebs. And they will all be back onboard before the "entertainment" starts.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

We've known about this ship since its beginning.  I'd love to be able to afford passage.  I think it was cruising between La Gomera and Tenerife on Tuesday, northbound around 10.00. Wish I could steal aboard!