PIOMBINO – The Northern Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority met in Piombino with maritime, port and tourism sector operators from Piombino and the Island of Elba. Regarding the theme of cruises, during the meeting – among other things – provisional forecasts on the number of scheduled calls for 2026 were provided.
As highlighted by Confcommercio via the press, the analysis of this data shows a decrease in the number of ships that will call at the port of Piombino.
If in 2025 the calls were 13, of which 11 were made by a single cruise company, Marella Cruises, and another two by two other shipping companies, in 2026 the calls scheduled to date are six: two by Marella and four by other companies.
While understanding the concern expressed by Confcommercio following that meeting, we would like to point out that the numbers are still provisional and are susceptible to possible increases.
It should also be noted that the halving of scheduled calls is attributable to the will of the company Marella Cruises (the one that made 11 calls in 2025) to carry out a different rotation compared to the past, by scheduling new itineraries.
This, moreover, is a change that occurs with some frequency in the cruise sector, for reasons attributable to a multiplicity of factors that are independent of the relationship of trust that carriers have established with the individual ports they call at. On the other hand, it should be highlighted that four calls scheduled to date have been scheduled by four different companies. A sign that the port of Piombino has nevertheless managed to maintain an attractive capacity towards an increased number of shipping companies.
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That said, we are working to further enhance the reception capacity of the ports in our port system, so much so that next year we will bring the Italian Cruise Day to Livorno. It will be an important moment for discussion through which we aim to analyze any critical issues and identify any solutions.
Obviously, we will not wait for the event to address the open issues. We will do so frankly, openly discussing with trade associations, operators and institutions.
It is true, Piombino deserves more, and it will be our job to work with determination to increase the number of scheduled calls already in the coming months.
