April 25, 2022 - The 2022 cruiser season in Croatia officially launched at the beginning of April in Dubrovnik and will end on November 21 in Split. 

The cruising season in Croatia started very early this year, or at the beginning of April, when the first MSC cruise ship of this year, MSC Fantasia, sailed into the port of Dubrovnik. This ship, which can accommodate up to 4,300 passengers, will visit Dubrovnik on Thursdays until the end of the season, scheduled for September 8, reports Novi List. 

In addition to Dubrovnik, MSC Cruises will visit Split, Zadar, and Rijeka and record 63 Croatian ports this season, which will end on November 21 in Split. Dubrovnik, the first and strongest Croatian port for large cruisers, expects to achieve 70 percent of 2019's traffic, which means that the city should reach about half a million passengers on large cruisers, or about 340 large ships. However, the number of cruisers and cruise passengers in the city is limited to two berths, or 4,000 passengers at a time.

While southern Croatia has opened the cruising season for large cruisers, Kvarner has started a new season this year with small cruise ships. Over the weekend, the ID Riva tours Alpha and Vita set off on a seven-day cruise from Rijeka with a group of guests from Switzerland who rented the boat for three weeks at the beginning of the season and three weeks at the end of the season and go on a bike tour. This is around 70 guests. Mario Konta, head of the port of Rijeka in ID Riva tours, said that this year's season started six weeks earlier than last year and that booking is incomparably better.

"This year, if all goes well, we should have a better year than 2019. I have been working here for 20 years, and this is the first time we are leaving in mid-April. It had never moved this early, always towards the end of April. And that's a very good sign. Today we are on board the ‘Alpha,’ which was sold in 13 charters this year before the season even started. So we have a lot of old guests coming back to us, and also a lot of guests who were there during the pandemic and who came back to us precisely because they said we were one of the few who asked for hand sanitizers, disinfection, wore gloves and masks and carried out all epidemiological measures. And the guests remembered that," said Konta, adding the last tour should be done on October 22, before the proper off-season begins. 

"The ships will sail for six months, which is a huge improvement compared to the last two years, so we are delighted. Next week we already have six ships departing from Rijeka, which is also a great indicator considering that it has not happened to us that we already have six full ships at the beginning," said Konta and explained that the route goes through the Kvarner islands, visiting Krk, Rab, Pag, Zadar, Kornati, Lošinj and Cres, before returning to Rijeka.

The captain of the motor yacht 'Alpha', Marin Tomaš, pointed out that he has had a boat with ID Riva for more than half a year.

"You know how much that means to us in these circumstances. This ship, 'Alpha,' is sailing for its third season, so the first was during the 2020 pandemic, and that year was unknown to everyone. ID Riva was on the front line of cooperation with the Croatian Institute of Public Health, the German health authorities, and others. And we found a balance, and, in addition, we all joined the Ministry's "Safe stay in Croatia" program. The complete ID Riva fleet is under this program, and we all adhere to epidemiological rules. This season we are starting to work also with epidemiological measures. For example, when leaving the kitchen, waiters must wear masks when receiving guests, during room service, and, therefore, during contact with the guest. Because, above all, we want our guests here to continue to feel safe. The entire crew has, of course, been vaccinated," said the young captain, adding that for the past two years, they have been driving at reduced capacity, on the verge of profitability. But the banks, he says, have met the needs of shipowners and approved a moratorium on loans for shipbuilding, and all that has been balanced so that those two critical years ended well.

"As for this year's bookings, it is phenomenal. We plan to sail for 26 weeks, and we are already at a good 80 percent occupancy. I must say that when the situation with Ukraine arose, there was a great fear of how it would develop and what would happen to the season; however, fortunately, it turned out very quickly that the situation with booking, despite everything, is excellent," said Tomas. Yesterday, another small luxury cruiser, 'Vita' with guests from Germany, set sail from the port of Rijeka.

His captain Silvestar Vukovic, doyen of the ID Riva cruise, also pointed out his satisfaction with this year's announcements and the fact that after two pandemic years, he is starting two months earlier.

"This is the success of our ID Riva agency and its entire team led by Selimir Ognjenović. The past two years have been challenging, but thanks to the Government's help, which provided the minimum wage to our employees, and thanks to the banks that approved the moratorium on loans, we managed to survive those two difficult years," said Vukovic.

He added that this year the old guests are coming back. Still, new ones are coming who have the opportunity to enjoy this unique vacation, beautiful towns, and small coastal and island places, but also the kindness of the hosts and very important gastronomy. This long-time sailor who has been with ID Riva since the very beginning of the cruise pointed out the excellent cooperation through all those years with the Port of Rijeka Authority, whose employees, he pointed out, he can always count on.

MB 'Morena' and MB 'Kalipsa' sailed from Opatija over the weekend. There were over 60 Austrian guests on these cruises in total. 

"Today is an important day for the Katarina Line agency. Although these are not our first departures this season, since we already had American guests who set out on a cruise from Split, three ships will set sail from the port of Opatija today. More precisely, two today, and another tomorrow morning. This is not what we had in 2019, but it is still a good start in 2022 and an indicator that, as it looks now, our business will be much better than last year. However, it should be said that all this together is still with a lot of ‘holes’ and uncertainties.

Reservations exist, but they can be canceled at any time, and we must not be deceived, but work intensively to offer as much as possible around the world and in the domestic market. For domestic tourists to also be able to enjoy cruises, I announce that we will have special offers for them," said the owner and director of the Opatija agency Katarina Line Katica Hauptfeld.

Cruises in various categories, from traditional to premium and deluxe quality ships along the Croatian coast, are their specialty. Of their three boats, two will be stationed in the port of Opatija.

"We have been to Croatia many times, we are a small agency from Villach and our guests love the combination of sports and relaxation on board. We always do it out of season and spring is ideal for that, because the islands are still fresh now, nature is waking up, everything is quiet, there is very little traffic, no crowds, which is very good for cyclists.

With the Katarina Line agency, we create exciting routes for our guests because they love cycling and cruising. The boats give us flexibility in terms of weather conditions, our departure today is from Opatija, and after a seven-day cruise, we will return to Opatija. Our guests are all from Austria, except for one Frenchman, there are 24 of them on the cruise, and they did not come to swim in the sea, but for active rest, relaxation, health, and enjoy excellent food. We sail to Krk, Rab, Pag, and Mali Lošinj and Cres, and then return to Opatija," explained Elke Neuhuber, owner of the agency from Villach, who sailed on the MB 'Morena'.

As Katica Hauptfeld pointed out, there are six more sailing on Katarina Line in Kvarner in addition to the already mentioned ships. 

This is the year of great cruisers to Rijeka, given that the pandemic essentially reduced their arrivals to zero. Nineteen ships are expected to arrive, slightly less than the record in 2019 when there were 24. Eight shipping companies have announced their arrival in Rijeka, and according to the current plan, the first ship to arrive in Rijeka is Marella Explorer 2 from Marella Cruises. Its first arrival was announced on May 7. The ship comes to the port of Rijeka for the first time, and it will be the first of its eight arrivals this season. In addition to Marella Cruises, ships of Celebrity Cruises, Oceania Cruises, TUI Cruises, MSC Cruises, Crystal Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Noble Caledonia will arrive in Rijeka in 2022. 

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

ZAGREB, 16 Dec 2021 - The City of Dubrovnik has become the majority owner of the Dubrovnik Port company with a 51.32% stake, mayor Mato Franković said on Thursday, calling this important for the company's future and the management of the city's port area.

The city previously acquired a 48.75% stake in the company and has become the majority owner after the city-owned company UTD Ragusa acquired another 2.75%. At a general shareholders' assembly on 22 November, Dubrovnik Port was authorized to buy 8.99% of its shares from the Atlantska Plovidba shipping company.

The mayor told the press that today was a historic day and decision for the future of Dubrovnik Port and the management of the city's waters.

"In recent years attempts were made to devalue Dubrovnik Port and award the cruise ship terminal project to another company. That would have made the port's future questionable and now we have changed all that."

Franković said that after 15 years the obligations to the government had been fulfilled and that, together with it, a procedure was launched to award a concession for the construction of a cruise ship terminal in the port. He hopes Dubrovnik Port "will soon get a priority concession."

The company's director Željko Raguž said the next step, in order to get the concession, is to amend the urban plan with regard to the city's port.

He said Dubrovnik Port would end 2021 with a profit of over HRK 2 million (€266,000).

For more, check out our dedicated politics section.

November 30, 2018 — To most tourists and passersby in Dubrovnik, it’s just a strip of rocks jutting out of the middle of the old town’s port. Or the remnants of an old jetty. But archaeologists think there may be more to the medieval Dubrovnik breakwater - "Kaše."

A project started by the Development Agency of the City of Dubrovnik will research the historical and geo-archeological significance of “Kaše”, located squarely in the middle of Dubrovnik’s iconic harbor, according to Morski.hr.

The agency contends it’s an interesting cultural-historical asset that requires reconstruction, but first needs to be thoroughly researched.

A broad look at the underwater area has already reaped rewards, revealing an older, unknown structure.

The 6 million kuna Dubrovnik breakwater project will fall under the auspices of “APPRODI — From Ancient Maritime Routes To Eco-Touristic Destination”, and funded by INTERREG V-B of the Adriatic-Ionian Transnational Cooperation Program. It will be carried out by the Institute of Maritime Heritage ARS NAUTICA, in cooperation with the University of Zadar, the Croatian Geological Institute, GeoMar d.o.o. and FOKA d.o.o.

Dr. Irena Radić Rossi will lead the research.

It will be the first time underwater archeological research will be carried out on the easily-ignored-yet-historic Dubrovnik breakwater. Even paper-based research into Kaše hasn’t taken a holistic look at all available documents.

Modern geological and geophysical techniques will allow researchers to study the entire old city harbor in greater detail, and to create a historic timeline of its development without endangering the site itself.

APPRODI aims to preserve natural and cultural goods as the foundation for any future development of the Adriatic-Ionian area.

The breakwater Kaše was built during the Renaissance in 1486, according to plans drawn up by the great engineer of his time, Paskoje Miličević Mihov.

The exact techniques used to build the breakwater aren’t known. Based upon its name (a bastardization of “kašeta” or “crate”) it’s believed wooden chests were stacked and filled with building materials.

Historical sources also indicated the breakwater was rejuvenated in the middle of the 16th century, except two wooden boats were sunk in the place of crates.

Today, the breakwater is in a dilapidated condition and in desperate need of repair after an earthquake badly damaged the structure in 1979, according to the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik’s Antiquities. Promises to renew the structure passed by like the waves it’s meant to stop. None came to fruition.

Kaše is just the first part of a multi-phase plan. The breakwater will be followed by a detailed geo-archaeological map of Dubrovnik’s port, as well as a cartographical study showing other interesting ports and islands not just on Dubrovnik’s coast, but all along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

To learn more about the Pearl of the Adriatic, check out Total Dubrovnik.

Good news for one of Dubrovnik's neglected but significant old buildings as the EU provides funds for much needed restoration.

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The concessionaire was supposed to operate a passenger terminal in Dubrovnik.

Who wants to hand over concession revenue of 400 million euros?

The terminal will be built by the French-Turkish consortium International Cruise Port Investment

A million passengers for 2015 by air last month, a million by ship this month. Dubrovnik is popular...