MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Punta del Este surges as cruise calling point

Uruguay expects a busy 2005/06 cruise season with the port of Montevideo operating as the hub but incorporating the Atlantic resort of Punta del Este as a growing calling point more than trebling the number of visitors.

A total of 33 cruise calls with an estimated 25.000 passengers are scheduled to visit Punta del Este beginning next December, according to local tourist industry sources.

Traffic will be mainly concentrated in two companies, Italian Costa Cruceros and Mediterranean Shipping Cruises with their vessels "Costa Romantica" and "Melody", catering mostly for Brazilian, Argentine and European tourists.

"Costa Romantica" with its 1.779 passengers is scheduled to begin the first of eight Punta del Este season calls next December 23, all of which apparently are virtually fully booked.

"Costa Romantica" was built in the Italian Fincantieri shipyard; she's 220 metres long, carries a crew of 650 and has ten decks plus all the normal amenities including a two floor Opera House and a Boticcelli dining room with a 700 seats capacity.

When built in 1993 she cost 350 million US dollars but has since undergone several maintenance upgrading and a couple of refurbishments. She has a GRT of 54.000.

MSC "Melody" has now a passenger capacity of 1,600 in 549 cabins (392 outside and 157 inside) in six decks (with a size between 14 to 20 square metres). The international crew is of 535 persons, with Italian and Croatian officers. With a gross tonnage of 35,143, her passenger space ratio (all berhs) is 21,9, in line with the others MSC's ships.

Delivered in France in 1982, she was refurbished in 1997 and was originally known as the "Atlantic". She was purchased by MSC in early 2005 costing 70 million US dollars. Mediterranean Shipping Cruises is considered the European fastest growing cruise ship operator, with a fleet of four vessels, now looking for a fifth one.

Montevideo will be receiving the first Antarctic cruise of the season "Alexander Von Humboldt", October 29. She's the former "Minerva", "Saga Pearl", "Explorer II" built in 1996 in Genoa with a gross tonnage of 12.331.

The Bahamas flagged "Von Humboldt" carries 380 passengers with a crew of 240 and is mostly German speaking.

November 3, the Liberian flagged "Explorer" will be calling in Montevideo. Originally built in Finland she's a small vessel and carries a hundred passengers.