Cruise season kicks off this year with a musical liner

The first cruise ship of the year has already come to Klaipėda Port. Its theme is music. This is also the first visit to the Lithuanian seaside for the liner “Le Bellot”. A total of 10 such cruise ships are expected this year. Between the end of April and October, 53 cruise liners are expected to visit Klaipėda Port and the city.

“Every spring, the cruise ships that appear in Klaipėda Port announce the coming summer, when the city will once again be filled with tourists, music and people bustling in the streets. The first swallow of this year is exceptional, as it brings not only people but also music to the city, and after all, everything is always more positive with music. We hope that this year’s season will be more successful for the Klaipėda Port, both in terms of the number of cruise ships and the number of tourists arriving by cruise ships, than last year. We are expecting about 30% more ships and an equally increased number of tourists”, says Algis Latakas, Director General of Klaipėda State Seaport Authority.

In collaboration with “Radio clasique” and “Alain Duault”, one of France’s finest contemporary poets and author of many books on music, cruise ship owner “Ponant” has combined a cruise to historic cities on the Baltic Sea with a special musical project. The cruise ship “Le Bellot” started its journey on 20 April in Copenhagen. After visiting the ports of Karlskrona and Gdansk, the cruise ship arrived in Klaipėda. A total of 140 tourists were invited to visit the Old Town, Palanga and Neringa, where the guests have the opportunity not only to see, but also to taste or make something. Sensory tourism and unique experiences are a recent trend in tourism.

Built in 2020, the ship flies the flag of the French territory of Wallis and Futuna and is 131 metres long. However, less than half of the ships of this size are expected to be in the port of Klaipėda this year. It is estimated that around 60 percent of them will be large cruise liners, exceeding 200 meters in length.

The percentage of large ships coming to the Port of Klaipėda reflects both the principles of shipping in general and the development of cruise shipping. In order to keep pace with market changes and to be able to accommodate all cruise ships, Klaipėda Port needs to be developed and expanded accordingly.

Last year, the existing cruise ship terminal in Klaipėda Port already welcomed the cruise season in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Waste water from cruise ships is discharged into the sewage network after berth reconstruction and landscaping works. The construction of a new cruise ship terminal next to the Winter Port is expected to start this year. In a few years’ time, two new modern berths for cruise ships are expected to be built in Klaipėda Port.

The cruise ship season in Klaipėda is expected to end on 1 October this year. 63 cruise ships have already expressed their wish to visit Klaipėda next year and bring tourists here.