Staff Reporter
THIS is the moment the cruise liner Silver Dawn manoeuvres into Vigo port loaded up with thousands of well-heeled British visitors yesterday.
The Silver Dawn is referred to as an ‘ultra-luxury cruise ship’ belonging to the Silversea Cruises fleet – with an eye water starting cost of €6,000 per person.
Every room on the ship is a full-blown suite that comes with its own personal butler, marble bathroom and private balcony.
On board, there are eight restaurants, five lounges, and a fitness centre. The ship also has a spa and wellness experience inspired by the Roman concept of baths and leisure.
This stop was one of many on the boat’s 12 night long trip where it travels along the Atlantic coast between Southampton and Lisbon. It will make a second stop in Vigo on October 12 when it sails back in the opposite direction.
A second UK cruise liner, the Celebrity Apex, also docked on the same day.
It arrived in Vigo en route from Funchal to Southampton. The stop formed part of the 11 night cruise which also features visits to the Canary Islands, Madeira, Leixoes and Lisbon. The starting price for a trip on the boat is around €3,000 per person.
Guests on Celebrity Apex are able to enjoy the ship’s rooftop garden, relax in the spa, watch live performances in the theatre, gamble in the casino, and view artwork in the gallery.
Once docked, passengers flocked to the casco vello, Vigo’s old town, to see the Renaissance-era architecture and 19th-century Concatedral de Santa María church.
Others got on one of the many buses waiting at the port to take guests to Baiona, Tui, Cambados and Santiago de Compostela.
Both cruise ships were welcomed with great fanfare by Carlos Botana, the president of the Port of Vigo.
He hailed the huge boost the 5,000 tourists – the majority of whom are British – will make to the local economy.
The city’s port is close to its centre, making it easy for passengers to visit shops and restaurants, benefitting local businesses.
Each year, over a hundred cruise ships stop over in Vigo and a total of 250,000 individuals visit the area as a result.
The Galician government’s 2026 budget law includes implementations for tourist tax in some of the region’s cities.
However, Vigo has asked the government to exempt cruise ships that do not stay overnight from having to pay this tax.
On October 6, neither Silver Dawn nor Celebrity Apex spent the night in Vigo – the boats were docked at the port for the day only.
They are the first of four double calls planned to visit Vigo this month.
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