Cruise lines to go ahead with Barcelona calls in wake of terror attack
Gene Sloan
Most major cruise lines with ships scheduled to call at Barcelona in the next few days plan to go ahead with the visits, despite Thursday's terror attack.
A spokeswoman for the parent company of Oceania Cruises on Thursday said a Barcelona call scheduled for Friday by the 688-passenger Sirena would take place as planned as would a call scheduled for Sunday by sister brand Norwegian Cruise Line's 4,100-passenger Norwegian Epic.
"We are closely monitoring the situation in Barcelona, and our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected," Norwegian spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello told USA TODAY. "We will communicate any further updates, if needed, as appropriate."
MSC Cruises also is planning to go ahead with a Barcelona call scheduled for Friday by the 4,500-passenger MSC Meraviglia, and Disney Cruise Line is sticking with a visit to the city scheduled for Saturday by the 1,754-passenger Disney Magic.
A spokeswoman for the parent company of Royal Caribbean told USA TODAY its executives "haven't made any decisions at this time" about upcoming Barcelona calls. Royal Caribbean's 3,634-passenger Freedom of the Seas is due in Barcelona on Sunday.
Norwegian Cruise Line to expand in Europe
Royal Caribbean's 2,501-passenger Brilliance of the Seas called on Barcelona on Thursday but had departed before the terror attack occurred.
Brilliance was the only major cruise vessel from a line that markets to North Americans visiting Barcelona on Thursday. Two ships that cater to British tourists — P&O Cruises' Britannia and Thomson's Tui Discovery 2 — also were visiting Barcelona on Thursday. Officials have accounted for all passengers and crew from those vessels.
Other lines with ships scheduled to visit Barcelona over the next week include Europe-based brands Costa Cruises and Aida Cruises.
Thursday's attack took place along Barcelona's Las Ramblas, a tree-lined pedestrian route that is one of the top destinations for cruisers visiting the city. The beginning of Las Ramblas is not far from Barcelona's main cruise terminal.
Barcelona is one of the biggest cruise ports in Europe. It's visited by hundreds of cruise ships each year.
Countdown: The 25 most beautiful cruise vessels
