The May Day holiday weekend, cloudy weather, three cruise ships and a couple of 'megayachts', the boat show, the Be Palma food event in Parc de la Mar; they all played their part in bringing congestion to Palma on Friday.
Celebrity Equinox, Mein Schiff 5, and MSC Splendida, plus the luxury yachts (Evrima and Le Laperouse) had some 9,000 people. Friday was the first big day for cruise ships this season, and it just so happened to coincide with a cloudy day, which typically brings people into the city in great number.
Resurfacing work on the Avenidas and the consequent jams added to a sense of 'saturation'. One shop employee described the situation as "a little chaotic". The town hall had chosen this Thursday (a public holiday) until Sunday in the hope of minimising inconvenience. The public had been asked to avoid the Avenidas if possible.
But shops, bars and restaurants probably won't have been complaining; likewise the illegal street sellers. Friday represented a good start to the season, if as ever there will be the argument about how much the cruise passengers really contribute. In May there are 64 scheduled stopovers, a three per cent increase over May 2024.
The weather meant that 'Operación Nube' was put into effect. Extra police are deployed for Operation Cloud, the town hall saying that Friday was "intense but controlled".