Port of Amador Receives its First Cruise Ship of the Season

The Panama Tourism Authority reported that 55 reservations have been confirmed for cruise ships that will arrive at the port of Amador and approximately 137 at Colon 2000. The port of Amador received the first ship of the 2024-2025 cruise seasons.  It was the Sapphire Princess, a luxury ship from the Princess Cruises line, which arrived in the country with 1,239 passengers on board.  José Rodríguez, Director of Tourism Investments for the Panama Tourism Authority, indicated that there are 55 cruise ship reservations that will arrive this season at the port of Amador and 137 at the port of Colon 2000 on the Caribbean side.  The Sapphire Princess was built in 2004 and remodeled in 2018.  It came from Puntarenas, Costa Rica and was bound for Cartagena, Colombia.  It has more than 700 balconies, world-class gourmet restaurants and entertainment options for adults, children and young people.

“The ship, with capacity for more than 3,500 people between passengers and crew, arrived with thousands of tourists on board, coming from all over the world and taking advantage of their stop in Panama to live unique tourist experiences in the capital city and Colón, which will have a positive impact on the economy of Panama,” said Rodríguez.  The ATP expects an increase in the arrival of cruise ships for this new season, which will have an impact on a greater number of tourists entering the country.  “We have high expectations regarding the number of visitors to the country during this cruise season, both for the creation of direct and indirect jobs and for all the tourist activities that tourists can experience when visiting the country,” said the manager of Cruise Ports, Fernando Alonso.  The 1,239 passengers who disembarked from this first cruise of the season in Amador traveled with paid tourist packages and boarded more than 35 buses from the different agencies and tour operators in charge of providing them with experiences in the different destinations.  An estimated 500 of the visitors also visited areas surrounding the Port of Amador such as the Amador Causeway, the Old Town and shopping centers using independent sets.  The first cruise ships began arriving at the port of Colón 2000 on Sunday, October 6, and the first cruise ship of the season also passed through the Panama Canal on Monday.