High occupancy on cruises departing from Colón

Starting in April, the Spanish line Pullmantur will have a ship sailing year-round from the terminal in Colón. For the third year in a row, two cruise ships are operating from the port of Colón 2000 on the Atlantic coast. The vessels have a combined capacity to carry nearly 4,000 passengers. Preliminary data shows that the boats are embarking with an occupancy rate higher than 90%, and they are expected to reach 100% occupancy in January and February, as happened last season.

Royal Caribbean will once again be using the Grandeur of the Seas, the ship it used in the first season in 2009, and that has now been upgraded to improve the facilities that the company offers its passengers. The ship will make 24 departures from the port of Colón 2000.

Colón is also home port to the Spanish ship line Pullmantur, which for the second year is using the 1,828-passenger ship Horizon to cover the route across the Caribbean.

The company will use the Horizon until April, to be replaced by the cruiser Monarch, which can board 2,752 passengers. The Monarch will operate for a full year from Panama, since local authorities negotiated an extension of the agreement they had with the Spanish company. Panama, in return, is providing funds to promote the route from Colón.

Colombians, Venezuelans, Brazilians and Mexicans are the tourists who most use the home port in Colón. Between 2009 and 2012, nearly 200,000 passengers have passed through the home port of Colón 2000. Thus far, the cruise lines have confirmed that they will continue to operate in Panama until the 2014 season.