The new and most spectacular ships arrive this year in Barcelona

On the red carpet world of cruise ships will be deployed again and again this year in the port of Barcelona. If the power sector is measured in terms of volume and novelty, the Catalan capital can boast of attracting large releases of the year, either in brief stopovers or even departures and arrivals from the city. The boat with over passage of the world, the Independence of the Seas, for up to 4,370 passengers, will be left to see for the first time in Barcelona on June 5. At the end of the year MSC will debut its largest ship, the Fantasy, for up to 3,959 passengers, and leads to the Catalan capital for Christmas.

The list is headed by news of the visit of Independence, which will open in April in the UK. It will be the largest ship in terms of capacity (in length wins Queen Mary 2), two other identical twins (Freedom and Liberty) operating in Caribbean waters. The gamble Royal Caribbean, one of the giants of the sector, Europe is supported by the boom in cruise ships, where in 10 years it has gone from 1.1 to 3.4 million cruises.

Within this framework, Spain plays an important role for its growth potential, with Barcelona at the top. The visits of Independence, 339 meters long and 158,000 tons, will be repeated. But they are not the only bet of this company, which since May offer weekly cruises with Voyager of the Seas (so far the largest operating in Europe) and also wagering Mini cruises by four or five nights, with all the exits from Barcelona from May, to publicize and promote such routes, explains its director in Spain, Wangüemert Bethlehem.