Kusadasi has officially welcomed a MSC Cruises ship at its port for the first time, as the MSC Lirica docked at Port Kuşadası, operated by Global Ports Holding, to perform its maiden partial turnaround call.

The 2022 Eastern Mediterranean itinerary of the MSC ship will feature Kusadasi for a total of 29 times, according to a press release.

The MSC Lirica arrived in the morning with its 846 passengers who visited the ancient city of Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary.

Meanwhile an exclusive check-in hall has been was created for the turnaround passengers of MSC Cruises within Ege Port Kusadasi’s Scala Nuova Village, the port said, in a statement. 

Aziz Gungor, Global Ports Holding Regional Director for East Med and Ege Port Kusadasi General Manager commented: “Today marks the first partial homeport operations at our port for the season. Through collaboration between Ege Port and MSC teams, we have successfully completed the boarding of new passengers and the transit operations. As a main transit port, Ege Port Kuşadası protocols and team enable to have such operations with ease. We look forward to hosting the MSC Lirica for another 28 partial turnaround calls this season.”

During the ceremony onboard of the ship hosted by MSC Cruises, Gungor and his team presented the ceremonial welcome plaque to the captain.

Also in attendance were MSC Cruises Executive Director Angelo Capurro, MSC Turkey Country Manager Burak Çalışkan, Kusadasi District Governor Saadettin Yucel, Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Umut Tuncer, Selcuk Mayor Filiz Ceritoğlu Sengel, Kuşadası Harbor Manager Onder Eyigun.