SUBIC BAY FREEPORT--The Italian-flagged cruise ship Costa Atlantica will arrive here on Saturday and will dock at the Alava Pier, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) announced on Friday.
“Subic’s time to become the next cruise ship playground of Asia has already begun, not in June as we initially announced, but this Saturday,” said SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma T. Eisma, as she briefed members of the newly-formed technical working group for SubiCruise campaign.
Eisma said the 85,619-ton ship with a capacity of 2,114 passengers will be arriving from a port call in Manila.
“We are already very excited,” she said, adding that “I hope that this will spark our dream of making Subic a part of the inter-island itinerary of international cruise ships.”
The arrival of Costa Atlantica is expected to be a litmus test for Subic, which is raring to draw foreign tourists to the various attractions on its shores.
Eisma had earlier announced the arrival in Subic of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship MS Ovation of the Seas in June, to be followed by the Voyager of the Seas in August.
She said the Subic Bay Freeport promises to offer the best tourism facilities and services for tourists from the arriving ships, with memorable and tailored-tourism experiences to meet the expectation of visitors.
The visiting Costa Atlantica is a Spirit-class cruise ship owned and operated by Costa Crociere (Costa Cruises), an Italian cruise line based in Genoa, Italy and owned by Carnival Corporation & Plc.
The Costa Cruises brand currently operates 15 cruise ships that provide holidays in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America.
Costa Atlantica is renowned for having all of its decks named after the movies of Italian movie director Federico Fellini. (PNA)
Photo courtesy of SBMA Communications Department
