Port of Maó busier than ever during this past weekend

Three cruise ships and two regular ferries were all in port at the same time. October is normally amongst the busiest times for the port.

Through this year there have been various cancellations of cruise ship visits to the island, but sufficient new bookings have taken their place to maintain a state of equilibrium.

The streets of the island's capital were thronged with an estimated 3,000 visitors during the morning, bringing much needed trade to the town's shopping centre. Many of the cruise ship passengers took advantage of the excursions on offer and in other parts of the island it was apparent that visitor numbers were up for the day by the succession of coaches visiting local beauty spots.

As in past years, the cruise ships that visit Menorca during October follow this cruise with operations out of South Africa. They then progress, without passengers, to operations in the Caribbean during the European winter months.