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March 12, 2022

Ruby Princess Calls on Cartagena for the First Time

Things are starting to feel normal once again after the pandemic and Cartagena, Colombia is certainly no exception thanks to the return of cruise ships to the city.

On March 9, Ruby Princess from Princess Cruises arrived in port for the first time to a welcoming event hosted by ProColombia, the country’s tourism board. Flavia Santoro, the President of ProColombia, was on hand to welcome the ship to the city of Cartagena.  

“It’s worth remarking that for the 2021-2022 season, Princess Cruises is the cruise line with the highest number of arrivals in Colombia, since for this season, 12 ships of the line will arrive, which represents 14,6% of the entire operation in the country,” Santoro said.“About 2,400 transit passengers are arriving in these cruise ships. This will generate an economic impact of US$ 300,000 in Cartagena, which translates into more opportunities for the local tourism sector … these are clear signs that show how international tourism in Colombia keeps moving from recovery to growth,” he continued.

Photo: ProColombia

Disney Wonder and Encanto

Alongside Ruby Princess in Cartagena on March 9th was Disney Wonder from Disney Cruise Line. It was the first time a Disney ship had called on the country since the release of the movie Encanto, an animated film inspired by the country and culture of Colombia. Upon arrival at the dock, there was a cultural show and a movie photobooth welcoming the guests ashore. The captains of both cruise ships were given the Book of Warmth, a collection of stories, compiled by ProColombia, that show the essence of the Colombian people and culture. 

The first cruise ship to call on Cartagena since the pandemic began happened in August 2021 when Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze sailed into port. The ship was the first of a scheduled 26 cruise line to call on Cartagena during this cruise season, a little over half of the total ship calls from the 2019-2020 season.  

Photo: ProColombia
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Evan Gove is the SEO & Content Manager for Porthole Cruise and Travel's digital department. He covers cruise industry news and writes ship reviews for porthole.com. You can also catch him as a guest on the YouTube series Cruise Control with Bill Panoff. Follow his tweets and posts about the cruise industry from Porthole Cruise and Travel's social media accounts.

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