In 2023, three cruise ships are currently scheduled to stop over in Alcudia. These ships will represent something of a recovery not only from the pandemic but also from the fall in demand in 2019. There was one ship in 2022 (it arrived in October), as there had been in 2019. In 2018, there were four.
Cruise tourism in Alcudia, such as it is, is of a totally different type to that of Palma. The port infrastructure is not designed for large cruise ships. No more than one can dock at the same time. The ships that there have been over the past decade since the port was redeveloped have been of a so-called boutique variety. They are small and their passenger numbers are limited, although these passengers, by nature of the type of cruise, have high spending capacity.
Like Palma, Alcudia is a state port, one of the five in the Balearics. It therefore comes under the Balearic Ports Authority (APB), the regional presence of the State Ports. The APB reports that the three ships in 2023 are due on April 27, June 10 and October 18.
Alcudia's tourism councillor, Pep Cladera, says: "Last October we had a cruise ship, and with a return to normality, we hope that the arrival of the ships in 2023 will benefit Alcúdia. The wish is that passengers can visit our heritage, taste our varied gastronomy and take with them a pleasant memory."
This is the hope. But in reality, the benefit to Alcudia businesses from what can only ever be small-scale and limited cruise tourism has never been great. There is heritage and there is gastronomy in Alcudia, but so there is elsewhere in Mallorca.