Madeira Receives Double Nomination for 2026 World Cruise Awards

Posted on 11 August, 2026 by Spacejunkie2

Madeira Receives Double Nomination for 2026 World Cruise Awards

Madeira Ports has announced that it has received a double nomination for the World Cruise Awards, marking the fifth consecutive year that the international awards program has recognized the destination.

“These nominations are an important international recognition of the work that has been carried out in Madeira to develop an increasingly sustainable, high-quality and competitive cruise tourism sector,” said Jose Manuel Rodrigues, regional secretary for economy, who oversees the Madeira Ports Administration (APRAM, S.A.).

He added that the double nomination further strengthens Madeira’s reputation as one of the world’s leading cruise destinations.

For Paula Cabaco, president of APRAM, the nominations “reflect the commitment and dedication” of the company’s employees, as well as all the professionals who make up Madeira’s cruise tourism value chain.

“Being shortlisted for these awards also highlights APRAM’s commitment to environmental sustainability and to continuously enhance the experience offered to both passengers and crew,” added Cabaco.

“More than an institutional recognition, these nominations are an honor for Madeira and for the Madeiran people, whose hospitality makes every cruise call a truly memorable experience.”

The nominations follow the destination winning “Europe’s Best Cruise Destination” in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and being named “World’s Best Cruise Terminal for Sustainability” in 2024.

Madeira is among the finalists in both categories, the ports said in a press release.

In the category of “Europe’s Best Cruise Destination,” Madeira is competing alongside Athens, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Lisbon, Monte Carlo, Nice, Oslo, Rome and Southampton.

For the title of “World’s Best Cruise Terminal for Sustainability,” the Port of Funchal is shortlisted alongside the cruise terminals of Steinwerder, Flam, Kai Tak, Montreal, Copenhagen, Kiel, Valletta and Victoria.

Voting is free and open to the public and takes place online through the World Cruise Awards website until August 21.

The winners of the 2026 edition will be announced on October 14 during the annual gala, which this year will take place in Jamaica.

Madeira stated that it has already won the title of “Europe’s Leading Island Destination” on twelve occasions.

Dubrovnik seeks to sharply curtail cruise tourism

Posted on 27 August, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

The Celebrity Reflection in Dubrovnik.

The new mayor of Dubrovnik said he is in favor of halving the number of cruise passengers arriving daily at the Adriatic port city in Croatia.

Mayor Mato Frankovic, elected in June, told London’s Telegraph newspaper that the current soft ceiling of 8,000 passengers a day should be reduced to 4,000.

He also called for limits on tour operators running day trips to the walled medieval city, which has been a Unesco world heritage site since 1979.

A 2015 Uneco mission recommended that a cap on cruise tourism be developed, and that it should not exceed 8,000 passengers per day.

The Dubrovnik Port Authority said on its website that the cap was exceeded 18 times in 2016 out of the 243 days when cruise ships called. It also said it refused 40 cruise call requests for this year.

Dubrovnik has become one of the most popular stops on an itinerary from Venice to the Eastern Mediterranean, or the reverse route. Last year Dubrovnik had 639 ship calls and handled 831,730 passengers, up 0.1% from the year before, according to Med Cruise, an association of Mediterranean cruise ports. Of those, 763,561 were transit passengers, ranking Dubrovnik behind only six other ports of call in the Mediterranean region.

Frankovic said he would like to see a “reset” for tourism, and that ship calls need to be spaced more evenly so the weekend crush is reduced.

The Unesco report said 90% of cruise calls to Dubrovnik come between May and October. And although cruise visitors accounted for only 2.5% of all visitors in 2013, “they have a disproportionate impact on the World Heritage property due to their concentration in time and space,” the report said.

World’s biggest cruise ship helps boost Puerto Rico tourism

Posted on 30 December, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Harmony of the Seas

SAN JUAN (AP) — The world’s biggest cruise ship has docked in Puerto Rico for the first time as the U.S. territory reports a boost in tourism amid an economic crisis.

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas arrived Wednesday in the historic district of the capital of San Juan. The ship can carry up to 6,700 passengers and 2,300 crew members.

The arrival follows an $8 million port renovation.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla says Puerto Rico expects to welcome a record 1.7 million cruise ship passengers next year.