Busy summer cruise season in HaminaKotka harbour
This summer the Kotka-Hamina region welcomed its 10th international cruise ship the Seven Seas Splendor. The world class cruise ship arrived on a sunny Wednesday morning on July 12th in the Harbour of Mussalo. After getting off the ship, visitors had the opportunity to participate in guided tours or explore the summery city on their own.
Read the visitors thoughts about Kotka below!
Couple, Priscilla and Gordon Hallberg from New Mexico, USA were exploring the waterfall in Sapokka Water Garden. Besides the park they particularly like the beautiful wooden houses of Kotkansaari and the large number of statues in Kotka. “It looks like it would be lovely to live here,” Priscilla pondered. The city of Kotka seems to have made an indelible impression on the good-natured couple.
Julie from the USA and Igor from Russia wanted to see the outstanding parks and local churches. Before visiting Sapokka Water Garden, they had already visited Isopuisto, getting to know the historic St. Nicholas Church located in the middle of the oldest and largest park of Kotka. During the day they wanted to see even more of Kotka’s beautiful parks and Kotka’s church. After Sapokka Water Garden, they happily continued their journey along the beach path towards Katariina Seaside Park.
Sapokka Water Park was also crowded with other visitors of Kotka: residents of Kotka and visitors from other parts of Finland. Cameras were flashing when the visitors wanted to capture the unique park for later admiration. Visitors seemed very happy with the city’s offerings. The sunny and warm summer day provided a perfect opportunity to explore maritime Kotka and its attractions.
More than 12,000 visitors have already enjoyed the region’s offerings, the forecast for the entire season is estimated to reach around 20,000 cruise guests and crew members. The diverse range of visitors this summer includes travellers from the United States, South America, Canada, the Middle and Far East, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The feedback from both cruise guests and the ships’ crews has been positive. Kotka-Hamina region is perceived as pleasant, clean and the people friendly and linguistically competent. In addition, tourists have been positively surprised by the variety of programmes on offer.
The summer cruise season 2023 in Kotka continues into August, when a total of three international cruise ships are expected to arrive in HaminaKotka Harbour on 6th, 11th and 17th of August. The ships will arrive to Kantasatama and the ports of Hamina and Mussalo.
