Homeport honours for Malaga

BRITISH sabbatical stalwarts Thompson Cruises is once again to make the Port of Malaga its centre of operations in the Mediterranean for the 2017 season, choosing the provincial capital as the start or end-point for 20 cruise itineraries.

The 264 metre, 1,800 berth ‘TUI Discovery 2’ liner will visit every Sunday from May 14 until September 24, increasing the number of passengers passing through Malaga to 72,000, a 28.5 per cent increase on 2015.

Destinations on the opulent, all-inclusive cruiser’s schedule will include Barcelona, Valencia, Ibiza, Porto, Lisbon, Marseille, and Tenerife, with the latter acting as a second homeport for the boat which formerly sailed under the Royal Caribbean moniker ‘Legend of the Seas.’

The TUI Discovery 2 has a larger capacity than the ‘Thomson Spirit’, which is operating out of Malaga in 2016, and Thompson Cruises managing director, Helen Caron, said: “It gives me great satisfaction to reveal that Malaga and Tenerife will act as homeports for our new ship TUI Discovery 2, since both are perfect for families, friends, and couples wishing to discover amazing destinations.”