VALLETTA CRUISE PORT -  April 2018 Kick Off.

On Thursday 5th April, a dull day with Easterly force 5 winds and the afternoon it was blowing to North Westerly Force 7 sometimes 8 at times 3 cruise liners berthed at the Valletta Cruise Port Terminal filling up the Waterfront berths.

We had the 2000 built P&O liner OCEANA coming from Civitavecchia, Italy to do a turnaround of passengers before proceeding to Rhodes, Greece of which she was the first one to enter at 0514 hrs (0314 UTC) berthing at Pinto 1 and 2 wharves, then at 0606 hrs (0406 UTC) the 1999 built liner PACIFIC PRINCESS sporting her giant logo with the Seawitch on her bow. (Since 1968 the SEAWITCH has been the part of Princess Cruises logo) coming from Venice, Italy before heading to Porto Empedocle, Italy berthing at Pinto 3 Wharf and the 1996 built liner MEIN SCHIFF 1 entering at 0616 hrs (0416 UTC) coming from Souda, Crete before proceeding to Salerno berthing at Pinto 4 and 5 wharves.

Below images are of the cruise liners at Pinto Wharves  -

Below is image of MEIN SCHIFF 1 berthed at Pinto 4 and 5 wharves -

Vessel was represented in Malta by SMS Shipping (http://www.sms.com.mt)

Images of PACIFIC PRINCESS berthed at Pinto 3 Wharf -

And OCEANA berthed at Pinto 1 and 2 wharves -

Vessel was represented in Malta by Malta Cruise Services, a division of Mifsud Brothers Ltd - (http://www.mbl.com.mt/) 

Why MALTA ? - 

Climate in Malta - Malta has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot summers, hotter in the inland areas. Rain occurs mainly in autumn and winter, with summer being generally dry.

The average yearly temperature is around 23 °C (73 °F) during the day and 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) at night. In the coldest month – January – the typically maximum temperature ranges from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) during the day and minimum 6 to 12 °C (43 to 54 °F) at night. In the warmest month – August – the typically maximum temperature ranges from 28 to 34 °C (82 to 93 °F) during the day and minimum 20 to 24 °C (68 to 75 °F) at night. Amongst all capitals in the continent of Europe, Valletta – the capital of Malta has the warmest winters, with average temperatures of around 15 to 16 °C (59 to 61 °F) during the day and 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F) at night in the period January–February. In March and December average temperatures are around 17 °C (63 °F) during the day and 11 °C (52 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare. Snow is very rare on the island, although various snowfalls have been recorded in the last century, being the last one reported in various locations across Malta in 2014.

Average annual temperature of the sea is 20 °C (68 °F), from 15–16 °C (59–61 °F) in February to 26 °C (79 °F) in August. In the 6 months – from June to November – the average sea temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F).

Sunshine duration hours total around 3,000 per year, from an average 5.2 hours of sunshine duration per day in December to an average above 12 hours in July. This is about double that of cities in the northern half of Europe, for comparison: London – 1,461; however, in winter it has up to four times more sunshine; for comparison: in December, London has 37 hours of sunshine whereas Malta has above 160.

Photos by Capt. Lawrence Dalli. Do not use these images without my permission. © All rights reserved. Malta Ship Photos & Action Photos - www.maltashipphotos.com