February 22, 2022 - On Monday morning, the Bolette cruise ship, carrying around 600 passengers, officially launched the 2022 cruise ship season in Split. 

On the morning of February 21, the 283-meter-long "Bolette," which sails under the flag of the Bahamas, sailed into the city port of Split, thus officially beginning the 2022 cruise ship season in Split. The cruise ship arrived carrying around 600 passengers and sailed to Split after the port of Valletta in Malta, reports Slobodna Dalmacija. 

This is the first announcement of a good cruise ship season ahead. 

"Yes, this is the first arrival this year. The ship is moored at an external berth. As far as I know, these are older travelers on classic cruises around the Mediterranean. They stay in the city until 5 pm, and until then, they have organized walking tours of the Palace. For this year, we have a total of 323 announcements of cruise ships, and we will see if all of them come true. It all depends, of course, on the pandemic, but the situation is still improving, and we are all optimistic. Guests on cruise ships have strict epidemiological measures and constant testing, as well as those before leaving the ports," said Vicko Vrgoč, head of operations at the Split Port. 

Vrgoč reminds us that the cruises suffered during the strongest wave of the pandemic. While the situation is slowly calming down, everyone knows that the pandemic can bring complications again.

"Of course, we wish for record years like 2016, when we recorded as many as 286 cruise ships entering the city port of Split. The next three cruisers for this year will arrive in mid-March, after which they will become more frequent, according to the announcements," Vrgoč added.

Over 310,000 vessels arrived in Croatian seaports in 2021, 25% more than 2020. According to the national statistical office, there were 27.3 million passengers, up 45.4% on 2020 but down 23% on 2019.

Most of the passenger turnover was recorded from April through September, and it was highest in August and September, in keeping with the peak tourist season.

In Q4 2021, 60,000 vessels arrived in Croatian seaports (+9.5%), and there were 3.6 million passengers (+37%).

As for passenger turnover in Q4, it was highest in Split with 580,600 passengers (+42%), followed by Zadar with 366,000 (+21%) and Preko on Ugljan island with 326,000 (+18%). On the other hand, the highest passenger turnover increase in Q4 was recorded in Dubrovnik with just under 147,000 (+122.6%), followed by Rabac and Hvar, which saw increases of about 90%.

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January 16, 2020 - A new tourist tax will be paid by cruise ships from January next year, but will Split be making the most of it? A closer look.  

Slobodna Dalamacija reports that in just one year, from January 1, 2021, cruisers moored in the port or anchored in the Split area will pay tourist taxes. The Tourist Tax Act, which was passed last year, stipulates that cities and municipalities may, but may not, charge tourist fees for international cruise ships at their ports or anchorages if so decided by the City or Municipal Council.

Fees are charged according to the number of passengers, that is, the capacity of the ship, and the Law stipulates that the minimum fee for ships up to 200 passengers is HRK 2000, while the maximum fee for ships carrying 3000 or more passengers is HRK 40,000. The city or municipality receives 85 percent of that money, and the County 15 percent. 

The public consultation, which ended on December 31, 2019, featured a "Draft Proposal for a Decision on the Tourist Fee Amount for Cruise Ships". It proposes that the minimum price be HRK 1,000 and the maximum price HRK 20,000. The City of Split has decided to collect an amount two times less than the law allows. 

We must add that the funds collected under the Act are intended to be earmarked for improving public and tourist infrastructure and for projects and programs for sustainable development. In other words, the City of Split gave up half of the money it could have used to improve communal infrastructure, arranging beaches, lighting, bench repairs, horticulture, and so on. 

On the other hand, Dubrovnik has decided to charge the maximum amount from 2021. They expect revenues of HRK 10-14 million per year.

Zadar, for example, decided that for the Gaženica port, which is a large infrastructure project made with state money, they would continue to charge nothing to cruisers in order to increase their competitiveness, but also divert cruisers to a location outside the crowded city center. For this reason, cruisers who want to anchor in the city center, next to the ‘Monument to the Sun’ and the ‘Sea Organ’, will be charged the maximum because it is an attractive location.

However, for a spot at the Split city port, right next to the famous Riva and the world-famous Diocletian's Palace, cruise ships are getting a considerable discount.

The initiative to collect fees began in Dubrovnik, which is overrun by cruise ships in the summer.

The power ratio is roughly such that the people of Dubrovnik have more cruisers than Split and Zadar combined. That is, twice as many cruisers come to Dubrovnik annually than to Split, which in turn has twice as many ships as Zadar.

Translated from Slobodna Dalamacija 

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The fact that we are edging closer to the heart of the tourist season is evident by the number of cruise ships entering Split’s city port. Namely, on Sunday, two cruise ships sailed into Split, both under the Panamanian flag, and both under the cap of MSC Krstarenja. Their Musica and Sinfonia cruisers brought thousands of guests to the city over the weekend, albeit only on a one-day excursion, as they sailed off at 6 pm, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on May 19, 2019. 

The Musica ship can accommodate 2,550 guests, while the Sinfonia carries one hundred more. Apart from the Port Authority of Split, who surely get their share of the profits, Split caterers and sellers of ice cream and souvenirs earned little from the cruise ship guests, though buyers of magnets seemed to make the biggest buzz.

"These are not the guests who spend a lot, they have everything on the ship, and in the city they only create crowds,” commented one Split resident. 

Split will, however, have to get used to these guests. On Sunday, the city welcomed only the 60th cruise ship this year, and by the end of the year, there will be more than 224 arrivals. 

Namely, the Port Authority of Split has announced the arrival of 284 cruise ships on excursions to Split this year alone - and this is still not the final number. Recall, Split welcomed 260 cruise ships last year, and by 2020, some 305 arrivals have been announced.

No stranger to cruise ships, Dubrovnik implemented a new measure that will introduce a daily tax for guests of cruise ship passengers in the amount of one euro per person in 2021, from which the city will be able to turn about 950 thousand euros into cash in just one year. The move will limit the number of cruise ships in Dubrovnik to two daily, so that no more than 5,000 visitors will arrive in the city in any one day. This is the result of intense negotiations between the City of Dubrovnik and the largest cruise companies in the CLIA association, which took place to attempt to solve the problem of up to seven cruisers a day entering Dubrovnik, which would bring up to 10,000 passengers into the city per day.

Should Split look into doing something similar? 

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And it isn't even high season yet!

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