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Date Published: 31/03/2026

Costa Cruises joins the growing list of liners setting sail directly from Alicante

Costa, MSC and Fred Olsen are all planning departures from Alicante this year as the port builds a solid reputation

Alicante is rapidly building a reputation as a serious cruise departure point and this year looks set to be the most significant yet. Costa Cruises is preparing to launch its first embarkation and disembarkation services from the port on April 15, marking the start of a trial run that will alternate with Valencia and run right through until September.

The ship making the journey is the Costa Pacifica, a 190-metre vessel built in 2009 with capacity for 3,780 passengers and a crew of 1,110. It's one of the larger ships in the Costa fleet, with 521 balcony cabins, nine pools and whirlpools, six restaurants and eleven bars on board.

The eight-day Mediterranean itineraries will include stops in Rome, La Spezia, Savona, Marseille and Palma, with further scheduled calls in Alicante on June 3, 10 and 17 and again on September 16.

A transfer service between Alicante and Valencia will be included for passengers depending on which port their sailing departs from, and the setup is expected to encourage travellers to arrive early and spend a night or two in the city before boarding.

The trial is being watched closely. If the results stack up, Costa could establish Alicante as a regular home port in future years, which would be a huge boost for the local tourism economy.

In addition to Costa, MSC Cruises, which has been using Alicante as a home port since 2022, returns this year with 15 sailings aboard the MSC Opera starting on May 10, carrying up to 2,679 passengers per voyage. Several other MSC ships including the MSC Virtuosa and MSC Magnifica will also make transit stops between April and December.

British cruise line Fred Olsen is also joining the mix, with a departure planned from dock 14 on October 8 aboard the Balmoral, a smaller and more intimate ship carrying 1,250 passengers.

It'll be the line's first departure from Alicante and another indicator that the port is increasingly on the radar of cruise operators looking for alternatives to the busier Mediterranean hubs.

Images: Costa Cruises

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