The port of Ibiza could receive the first cruise ship since 26 October 2019 on 20 July. It is still conditional however, because although the ship’s arrival is confirmed, the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB) warns that anything can happen. Nevertheless, if everything goes as expected, the ‘Aida Perla‘, a 300-metre-long monster with the capacity to comfortably accommodate 3,286 passengers, will dock at es Botafoc at around eight o’clock in the morning. This is one of the most eagerly awaited pieces of news for the sector since the de-escalation of the restrictive measures set by the central and regional governments to control the coronavirus pandemic began. But everything can change, insist the APB. In fact, although the itinerary of this ship that appears on the shipowner’s website (aida.de) explains that the route starts in Palma on 17 July to travel through Alicante, Ibiza, Valencia and Barcelona and finish back in Palma on the 24th of the same month, the port manager and the shipping company Ibiza Mar Consignatarios S.L. recommend remaining “cautious” in the face of this information. The stopover of the ‘Aida Perla’ is one of the many that the APB has registered for Ibiza this summer (just over 50, as this newspaper has already published), but it’s the only one that is confirmed… with all the reservations. The second cruise ship expected in Ibiza will arrive four days later, on 24 July. It is the ‘Mein Schiff 2’, from the TUI company, which inaugurated the cruise season in Palma last Wednesday after fifteen months without a stopover due to the pandemic. Joan Torres Tur, head of Ibiza Mar Consignatarios SL, consignee for the two cruise ships expected in Ibiza, is “optimistic but cautious”. For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.