Over 130 cruise ships tour Danube Delta since early this year

Over 130 river and sea cruise ships arrived since the beginning of the year in the Danube Delta, the Tulcea Port Zonal Master's Office announced, adding that the Danube traffic was carrying on smoothly within county boundaries.

«Up until now, 127 river and 7 sea cruise ships carrying about 12,000 -13,000 passengers arrived in Tulcea county. For the time being, the Danube is at navigable levels within county boundaries and ship trips to the Delta go on smoothly», – spokesman of the Tulcea Port Zonal Master's Office Petrica Rade told Agerpres.

As the Danube flow continues to decline, there might be a repeat of the situation last year when about 50 cruise ships headed for the Danube Delta canceled their trips because of the shallow water on the Upper Danube, and tour operators fulfilled their contractual obligations to the tourists aboard the ships by ensuring their transport on land to Tulcea and providing them accommodation in city hotels.

This year, the county tour operators expect about 200 river cruise ships to dock in Tulcea, after last year 180 cruise ships reached the port.

The first river cruise ships arrived in the Danube Delta in 2000-2001, but this type of tourism really gained momentum in 2004. The number of passenger ships to the Danube Delta was highest in 2007 - 177, declining to 136 next year and 150 in 2009.

Adapted from AGERPRES