With a beautiful sunrise into the background, the luxurious cruise ship World Explorer made its entrance this morning in the port of Catania, mooring at the Sporgente Centrale pier.
This is the first time the boat anchors at this port, but due to current health restrictions it was not possible to celebrate the usual Maiden Call ceremony, replaced, instead, by a warmly welcome from all the operators of Catania Cruise Port.
Aboard the World Explorer, chartered by the German group Nicko Cruises, 63 guests from Germany come home after a tour around Sicily, the last stop of their itinerary in the Eastern Mediterranean.
As always, the disembarkation was held following strict protocols of safety, health and prevention with which Catania Cruise Port obtained the "Safe Travels Stamp" from the World Travel & Tourism Council, in confirmation of its commitment to counter the Covid-19 pandemic.
World Explorer is a newborn jewel of the Mystic Cruises fleet, which is the first Portuguese company to fully dedicate itself to "Expedition Cruises" around the world, and christened on April 6, 2019 by Carla Bruni Sarkozy, during a ceremony held in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, where it was built inside the WestSea shipyards.
The craft, designed by the Italian architect Giuseppe Tringali, has a tonnage of 9,300 and can accommodate nearly 200 passengers in 98 luxurious suites, served by an international crew of 111 members. Long 126 meters, it is divided into six bridges, walking among which you can admire a theatre, a charming panoramic bar and a small casino. Its vocation for eco-sustainability is interesting: to ensure the minimum ecological impact, the ship is equipped with a modern and innovative hybrid propulsion system developed in collaboration with Rolls-Royce.
World Explorer is the third cruise ship for having chosen to moor in the port of Catania after the lockdown due to the health emergency, as well as the first in the luxury category. These new ports of call show how Catania port is becoming more and more important in the international cruise market, as evidence of the commitment that Catania Cruise Port reveals in the construction, implementation and advertising of the destination.
Since the end of 2016, Catania Cruise Port has joined the network of Global Ports Holding (GPH), the largest independent cruise terminal operator in the world, with a consolidated presence in the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Asia-Pacific regions, including important commercial realities in Turkey and Montenegro. GPH operates 21 ports in 13 countries and continues to grow steadily, providing services for 14 million passengers and reaching every year a market share of 24% in the Mediterranean.
