Three cruise ships have announced their arrival to the port of Rijeka, Croatia, in May in 2011. The cruise ships Golden Iris (Mano Cruises) and Oriana (P&O Cruises), with a passenger capacity of 1000 and 2000, respectively, are expected to moor at the new Port Passenger Terminal, and the third one, Black Watch (Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines), with a capacity of 800 passengers, has officially confirmed its arrival.

According to Bojan Hlaca, Executive Director of Port of Rijeka Authority, many cruise lines have recently shown an interest in bringing their cruise ships to Rijeka.

“I believe that the announcements of these three ships for May 2011 will have a positive effect”, Hlaca said. “These first cruisers are revealing new destinations. Rijeka is an interesting new destination and this is only a start to a cruising revitalization of the port of Rijeka. At the moment there are many announcements of potential arrivals next year.”

Convinced about the good prospect for the promotion of Rijeka as a touristic destination, Mr. Petar Skarpa, director of the Rijeka Tourist Board, expressed the port¹s readiness to accept cruise passengers with specific programs accomplished in agreement with agencies and ship owners.

“They are going to agree on the fine selection of organised trips to the resort of Opatija, the mountain region of Gorski Kotar, and the city of Rijeka, among other destinations””, Skarpa said.

Skarpa pointed out the solid cooperation between the Port of Rijeka Authority and the Kvarner County Tourism Office.