The Port of Marseilles has reported a 17 percent increase in cruise passengers for the first half of the year, at 227,000, which it attributed largely to regular calls by the Costa Concordia and the MSC Fantasia. The port said in a press release that the passenger capacity for the Concordia is 3,700 and 3,500 for the Fantasia.
Overall, Marseilles gets about 40 calls per month during the summer cruise season.
Ferry traffic was down 5 percent year-over-year to 469,000 for the first six months of 2009.
