27 July, 2018 - For the first time in history, two cruisers sailed on the same day in the port of Bar Harbour. On the docks of the Port of Adria, the ships "Horizon" of the Spanish company Pullmantur and "Marella Celebration" of the British company Marella Cruises have both sailed into the port.
The Tourist Organization of Bar Municipality in cooperation with the company “Port of Adria” and the Tourism and Creative Industry Cluster Bar, organised a festive welcome of cruisers.
Along with the traditional welcome, all the guests from the cruisers were able to enjoy the Montenegrin specialties: homemade pastry, cheese, honey, black wine and rakija. For all guests, the folklore ensemble "Rumija" performed a welcoming program, which was greatly appreciated by all tourists, and some of them even joined the performers in order to dance the Montenegrin traditional dance.
On the promenade, near the "Nulti kilometar", an information desk of the Tourist Organization Bar was installed, where tourists could get information, maps of the city, as well as the propaganda material of the municipality. The cruise tourists were well prepared and asked for specific information on visiting the most important cultural and historical monuments, but they also wanted to try traditional Montenegrin and specialties of the coastal cities.
In the future, the Tourist organization Bar is prepared to give their full support with the arrival of cruisers, with the goal of presenting Bar Municipality to as many tourists as possible to get them to know the rich offer of the city. They are pleased that an increasing number of tourists from cruise liners want to visit the area of Skadar Lake, to cruise the lake, visit the wine cellars of Montenegro and enjoy the unspoiled nature.
The ships also organized a ceremonial exchange of plaques between the representatives of the Boka Adriatic Bijela boat agent and the representatives of SC Port of Adria. The ceremonial reception was attended by Zoran Srzentić, President of Bar Municipality, as well as representatives of Tourist Organization Bar.
The President of the Bar Municipality expressed his satisfaction that this year Bar has been a popular cruising destination, and the "Horizon" and "Marella Celebration" cruisers, which in Bar for the first time brought about 3,000 passengers and over 1,000 crew members, is a sign that this season will be successful. He welcomed the travellers and crew members with the hope that they will have nice impressions of the city and return to the country in the future.
Sedat Kara, Executive Director of SC Port of Adria, emphasized that since Global Ports Holding is present in Montenegro, Spanish Pullmantur is the sixth cruising company that has recognized the potential of Bar as the new cruising destination. Although their primary activity is related to cargo handling, it is a great pleasure to create new opportunities for economic development. For the third year in a row, there is an increase in the number of cruise arrivals since a larger number of tourists and more companies are sending their ships to Bar. Excellent cooperation with the Tourist Organization and the Municipality, local producers and their associations contribute to positioning Bar as a high-end cruising destination with the purpose of extending the tourist season. The Port of Adria started with the application of the international ISPS certificate relating to international safety standards.
On the Promenade Kralj Nikola, this time, a local offer of traditional and authentic souvenirs was organized with the coordination of Olja Fatić, president of Tourism and Creative Industry Cluster Bar.
