“We are excited to welcome the Amadea and its passengers and crew to Galveston Island. The Port and its partners work together also on making Galveston a port of call,” said Chairman Benjamin Holland in a prepared statement. “Ship calls provide an opportunity to showcase the island’s many sites and attractions. I’m confident that these international travelers will enjoy all that the island has to offer.”

When the Amadea arrived in the morning of April 3, the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau was on site to welcome passengers and distribute information. Several shore excursions were offered, including a visit to Moody Gardens and tours of Space Center Houston. Passengers were also offered the opportunity to discover the many shopping and entertainment possibilities of the Historic Downtown Strand Seaport District.

The Amadea sailed from Villefranche-sur-Mer on Dec. 20 to the Eastern Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, down to South Africa, and across to Rio de Janeiro, around South America, through the Panama Canal, and will eventually make her way back across the Atlantic via New York before concluding in Hamburg on May 4.