On Thursday, the first cruise ship of the season will dock in Palma - TUI's Mein Schiff 2. The Balearic tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, the director general for tourism, Rosana Morillo, and the president of the Balearic Ports Authority, Francesc Antich will all be in the port when the ship arrives.
Mein Schiff 2 will be the first cruise ship in Palma or at any other port in the Balearics since March last year. A Spanish government ban on cruise ships was lifted last October to allow them in the Canaries, but permission for reactivation at other ports was only recently given.
The TUI ship will be on cruises of the Spanish coast, starting and ending in Palma and taking in Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Cartagena, Malaga and Cadiz. Aida Cruises' Perla will be operating a Spanish port itinerary, including Palma, from next month. Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean ships are expected in August.