Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2021

1 6 1 Zadar, Croatia Situated in the centre of the Croatian Adriatic coast, Zadar is a vibrant historical town with Roman ruins and medieval churches and fortifications, all intertwined with an array of cafes, wine bars and restaurants offering Mediterranean gastronomic experiences. The surrounding Dalmatian region, meanwhile, offers a range of both relaxing and exciting activities. The new Zadar Cruise Port terminal was opened in April 2019 and is an ideal Adriatic port for both transit and turnaround cruise operations for ships of all sizes. The first Croatian port to be awarded as Port of the Year, it has a two-floor terminal building, offering various services for visitors, passengers and crew. Ravenna, Italy Ravenna offers many attractions for cruise guests, including a total of eight monuments on the Unesco World Cultural Heritage List. The port is surrounded by wetlands on the Romagna Riviera and offers the famous cuisine of the Emilia Romagna region. Its location makes it easy for ships to reach destinations including Bologna, Florence and San Marino, as well as the city of Venice, of which Ravenna is an alternative port. Its variety of excursions makes the so-called City of Mosaics attractive to both passengers and itinerary planners, who can easily include it in their itineraries for the upper Adriatic alongside sailings to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro. Taranto, Italy A city of ancient Spartan origins, Taranto boasts a thousand-year-old port which has only recently opened to the cruise public. Now, visitors can sail into Taranto to discover its Greek roots, admire the stone mermaids sitting on its rocks, the beaches of Salento, the white trulli of Alberobello and the stones of Matera. Taranto is currently at the centre of numerous growth projects, which also involve the port and the local area dedicated to cruise tourism. Taranto Cruise Port docks can safely accommodate the largest ships in the industry, and the works for the new Falanto cruise terminal, a futuristic structure created to support intense transit and turnaround traffic, are now almost complete.