With the 2026 SeaTrade event in Las Palmas now behind us, where Tenerife’s ports stood out in their own right as Europe’s leading hub in the sector in the mid-Atlantic, it is time to get to work. The arrival of autumn marks the start of one of the busiest periods of the year for Tenerife’s port sector. The new 2026/2027 cruise season in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife will bring tens of thousands of passengers and crew members within a span of barely two weeks. Behind this colossal logistical operation are the shipping agencies, the entities responsible for coordinating berths, provisions, vessel services and passenger logistics to ensure the success of every port call.
Overall, the organizational precision of these shipping agencies will make it possible to manage the passage of 35,345 cruise passengers and 11,568 crew members between September 28 and October 10, 2026, reaffirming the strategic role of the port facilities in Tenerife and La Palma as drivers of maritime tourism in the Canary Islands.
A. Pérez y Cía, S.L. leads the passenger volume at the start of the season. Its activity will begin on September 28 at 2:00 p.m. with the arrival of the Pacific World, the vessel that will inaugurate the season and remain berthed at Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s South Pier until September 30 at 9:00 p.m., carrying 2,272 passengers and 900 crew members. The shipping agency will subsequently handle operations for the giant Iona on October 8 at the Ribera Pier, with capacity for 6,264 cruise passengers and 1,762 crew members, as well as the double port call of the Ventura (3,597 passengers and 1,230 crew members), which will first dock at Tenerife’s Ribera Pier on October 9 and the following day, October 10, at the Santa Cruz de La Palma breakwater.
Meanwhile, Intercruises Port Operations Spain SLU is focusing its operations on large-scale and premium tourism at Tenerife’s South Pier. On October 1, it will manage a simultaneous port call involving the Nautica, an exclusive vessel carrying 777 passengers and 372 crew members, and the Celebrity Apex, with capacity for 3,200 passengers and 1,320 crew members. The company will close out this first wave on October 10 by coordinating the extended stay of the Norwegian Star, which will accommodate 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members from 8:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.
The first block of operations will conclude with the high-volume maneuvers managed by MSC Shipping España, S.L.U., Canarship S.L. and Miller y Cía. S.A. On October 10, MSC Shipping will handle the MSC Virtuosa at the South Pier, the vessel with the greatest capacity at the start of the season, carrying 6,334 passengers and 1,704 crew members. At the same time, the itinerary of the Nieuw Statendam (3,152 passengers and 1,025 crew members) will be coordinated on an inter-island route by Miller y Cía. on October 8 at La Palma’s breakwater, with Canarship taking over the following day, October 9, for its port call at Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s South Pier.
The article On to the next thing: shipping agents launch Tenerife’s cruise season was first published on canarymaritime.com.
