Turkey welcomed the first cruise ship of season 2021 in a development that comes after the COVID restrictions brought travel to a halt.
Viking Ocean's Viking Sea on Saturday, March 13, docked at Port Bodum (one of the most popular tourist destinations in southwestern Turkey's Mugla province) for supplies and to pick up her crew as the ship moved to restart her sailings.
The 227-m liner Viking Sea was anchored at Port Trieste Italy for a long time as the pandemic halted her operations. The vessel arrived at Bodrum port to pick up her 120 crew members arriving from around the world.
The port's general manager, Haluk Hızlan, said they were happy to welcome the first cruise ship of the season in the province. Hızlan added they expected some 30 cruise trips in Bodum in 2021. No cancellations have been reported so far.
Viking Sea will depart for Port Limassol Cyprus Greece after the necessary procedures.
Meanwhile, a renovation project at Istanbul's Galataport is expected to become operational as of April 2021. Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said some 200 cruise ships carrying 350,000 passengers had made reservations to anchor at Galataport this year.
Situated on the shore of Istanbul’s Karakoy district, the US$1.7 billion (TL 12.86 billion) project will have the potential to welcome as many as 25M visitors, 7M tourists, and 1.5M cruisers. It will host a world-class cruise terminal, a selection of arts centers, hotels, boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and office spaces.