On April 25, 2024, this year’s cruise season was officially opened in Riga with the visit of the cruise ship “Le Bellot” of the French cruise company “Ponant”.
The first ship of the season is expedition class, built in 2020, has 7 decks, several restaurants and bars, lounges, swimming pool, spa area, fitness room. The ship is equipped with 92 cabins for 184 passengers (maximum capacity 264 persons), the ship is served by 112 crew members. Ponant’s latest ships are built as polar cruise yachts (length – 131 meters) with a shallow draft (4.5 meters) and are specially designed to provide an exclusive private yacht type polar travel experience. “Le Bellot” visits Riga as part of a 10-day themed “musical” cruise. The route includes 9 Baltic Sea ports, including our neighbors Klaipeda and Tallinn.”
Every Saturday and Sunday at 12.00, the guide with the green-red Liepaja flag in his hands will be waiting at the “Lielais dzintars” concert hall.
TIB of the Liepāja region
In the 2024 cruise season, the port of Riga currently has 67 ship calls, which is 5 visits more than last year. 9 ship visits are planned for 2 days with an overnight stay in Riga, 13 ships will visit the port of Riga for the first time. The season will last from April to December, when 5 cruise ships have been announced at the port of Riga, which is half as many as at the end of 2023.
The season will see several cruise line returns, larger ships and more luxury ship visits.
This season, after several years of breaks, the German cruise company AIDA will return to Riga, which stopped its trips to Riga with the start of the COVID19 pandemic in 2019. This means that a larger number of German tourists will be expected in Riga this year, including families with children, which is one of AIDA’s traditional passenger segments.
In September, the brand new Mein Schiff 7 cruise liner of the German TUI Cruises company, which was only put into operation in 2024, will arrive in Riga. It, like the Mein Schiff 1, will be the largest ships of this season in terms of size.
At the beginning of August, the Royal Caribbean Cruises ship Serenade of the Seas will dock at the port of Riga, which has included its visit to Riga in the program of the world tour cruise route.
This year, Riga will also be visited by the Villa Vie Odyssey, a unique concept ship of the American cruise company Villa Vie Residence, or the so-called “living ship”, which offers its passengers impressive world cruises. The ship’s travelers are so-called “global residents” who can purchase a stateroom on their property starting at $99,999, or choose one or more 35- to 120-day itineraries by joining a nonstop world cruise tour.
The Crystal Symphony ship of the Crystal Cruises cruise company, which offers its passengers exclusive luxury suites, will also visit Riga. Also, this season it will be possible to see several luxury niche ships of the French cruise company “Ponant” in the port of Riga. They are smaller ships in terms of size, carry fewer passengers on board, but at the same time offer their travelers more exclusive and more private travel experiences. It is significant that the premium class ship “Silver Dawn”, which arrived in Riga for the first time last year, will visit us 5 times this year.
“We are one of the most highly rated destinations in the Baltic Sea region. A large number of cruise lines note the high level of satisfaction of passengers after visiting Riga, which is reflected in guest surveys. Cruise passengers appreciate the offer of Riga tourism products, including UNESCO heritage, cultural and historical pearls, local food and drinks, as well as the excellent location of the port near Old Riga,” says Jeļena Burdastova, commercial operations specialist of the Riga Freeport Authority.
“Le Bellot” is visiting Riga for the first time, so yesterday the ship’s crew was also welcomed on board by the management of the Riga Freeport Authority, with the captain performing a symbolic exchange ceremony of the ship’s and the port’s cloakrooms.
