Cartagena will quickly reclaim its place as certainly one of Royal Caribbean Worldwide’s homeports.
As a part of a newly introduced winter program in Latin America and the Southern Caribbean, the Serenade of the Seas is about to supply a collection of cruises departing from the Colombian homeport through the 2025-26 winter.
The ship’s week-long itineraries characteristic visits to Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, along with a second homeport: Colón, in Panama.
In line with Alberto Muñoz, vice chairman of Royal Caribbean Worldwide for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cartagena was chosen as one of many embarkation ports attributable to its strategic geographic location, in addition to its rising recognition as a global tourism vacation spot.
In an interview with ProColombia, he additionally mentioned {that a} constructive expertise with the Rhapsody of the Seas through the 2023-24 season was one other related issue.
Muñoz described Colombia’s “cultural richness” as being aligned with the corporate’s proposal to supply distinctive experiences.
“From the colourful life in Cartagena to the pure wonders and delightful seashores, it provides a range of experiences that complement Royal Caribbean’s itineraries,” he defined.
Strengthening its presence out there, Royal CAribbean anticipates that the itineraries will see demand from native Latin People.
“Cartagena, with its mixture of historical past, tradition and accessibility, is a perfect place to begin for Caribbean itineraries, highlighting visits to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao). We’re assured that the town will entice each loyal clients and new passengers,” Muñoz mentioned.
“In the long run, we anticipate to optimize our operations within the area and enhance model recognition amongst native and worldwide customers. It will enable us to supply extra various and customized itineraries, elevating the expertise for our passengers,” he continued.
For Colombia, the operation serves as a worldwide platform to showcase the nation’s wonders, Muñoz famous.
“We’re serving to to place Colombia as a top-tier vacation spot in cruise tourism, highlighting its tradition, historical past and pure magnificence. This won’t solely entice extra worldwide vacationers but in addition contribute to bettering the worldwide notion of Colombia as a secure, various and engaging vacation spot for all sorts of vacationers,” he added.
Royal Caribbean’s presence in Cartagena can also be anticipated to be an impulse for the native economic system, Muñoz famous, producing advantages for the nation.
“We hope to contribute considerably to the expansion of native tourism, creating jobs and producing earnings by means of the hiring of native providers, from transportation, lodges, excursions and connectivity within the space.”