The port of Funchal today welcomes the transatlantic ships ‘Queen Victoria’ and ‘Seabourn Ovation’, and the debutant ‘Exploris One’, with the arrival of a fourth ship at 4:30 pm, another debutant, the ‘National Geographic Endurance’.
The three docked ships are handling a total of 3,875 people, 2,390 of which are passengers.
The ‘Exploris One’, an expedition ship, from Exploris Expeditions, arrived yesterday afternoon, stayed overnight and is scheduled to depart at 2pm today, bound for Ponta Delgada.
This morning, Commander Eric Pierre Saint Plancet, from France, received the president of the port authority, Paula Cabaço, representatives of the Captaincy, and the agent of the Ship Enthusiasts Club.
On the occasion, Paula Cabaço asked the captain to include Porto Santo in the ship’s expedition itineraries, having presented the island as “an environmental paradise.”
After the usual exchange of plates, a visit on board followed, guided by the captain himself.
The ‘Exploris One’ came from La Palma with 37 passengers and 94 crew, as part of a cruise along the African coast, which included Dakar, Cape Verde, Dakla and the Atlantic islands of the Canary Islands and Madeira.
The ‘Queen Victoria’ is finishing a 111-night cruise. On board, it has 1,798 passengers and 975 crew members.
This cruise started in Hamburg on January 9th, with calls in Southampton, Bermuda, Florida, Aruba, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, California, Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore , Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Tenerife, and now Funchal, followed by Southampton and Hamburg, where the trip ends on April 30th.
The ‘Seabourne Ovation’ is crossing the Atlantic, on a 26-night voyage, from Barbados, with stops in St. Lucia, St. Georges, Tobago, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Miami, and Funchal, followed by Lisbon, where this cruise ends.
On board, there are 555 passengers and 416 crew members. The ship leaves at 5pm, after an 11-hour stopover in Madeira.
The fourth ship arriving this afternoon, on its inaugural call at the Port of Funchal, is the ‘National Geographic Endurance’.
It comes from La Palma, with 51 passengers and 103 crew, stays in Madeira for 26 hours and leaves for Vila do Porto, on the island of Santa Maria, Azores, tomorrow at 6pm.
The ship was in South America, with stops in Argentina and Brazil, and also visited Cape Verde, Gran Canaria and La Palma.
