Don't Believe The Hype: Alcúdia and cruises

I guess you could say that it looked quite impressive, even with its sails down. I said to some old Mallorcan woman who was just staring vacantly in its general direction through the wire fencing that it was "impresionante". Not that I really meant it. It was more a case of finding something to say. She seemed somewhat startled by the fact that someone would say anything, but she agreed.

It would have looked a great deal more impressive had one been able to get up close. I knew there was little chance of doing so, but I asked the port cop anyway. You need to be accredited, he said, which I pretty much suspected would be his answer. I hadn't necessarily wanted to get right by it, just to be able to go up onto the elevated walkway so that I might get a decent opportunity of taking a photo, rather than taking one with the lens through the fence and at ground level, the result of which was useless.

Accreditation and all that, but was there not something to be said for letting people get up close? It was, after all, the first time a cruise ship (of sorts) had come to Alcúdia. The old Mallorcan woman would probably have relished the opportunity of staring vacantly from less of a distance. Should more of an occasion not have been made of this maiden cruise voyage to Alcúdia?

Perhaps they realised that it wasn't quite as it seemed. Don't believe the hype. I wonder who first coined this expression. Was it from the sixties? Ralph Nader maybe? Sounds like the sort of thing he would have said. It doesn't really matter, but hype there had been regarding Sea Cloud's visit to Alcúdia. The first cruise ship. The only problem was, as I came to realise when trying to trace the ship's movements, that it wasn't a cruise as such. Not a scheduled one, as it wasn't listed anywhere. A charter doesn't carry quite the same weight as a scheduled cruise does, and I assume that it had to have been a charter.

Consequently, and despite the spin that has come and will come not least from Alcúdia town hall, Sea Cloud's appearance doesn't mean a great deal. Not in terms of future cruise ships coming to Alcúdia.

The pre-Sea Cloud hype extended to all manner of possibilities. Excursions around Alcúdia, more custom for local restaurants and shops, putting Alcúdia on the cruise map, even combatting seasonality. The only one of these that might be said to have some substance is that to do with the map. But then presumably cruise lines already know. They only have to look at a map.

I shook my head with amused disbelief at the apologetic table that had been laid out with a white cloth near to the entrance (and exit) to the terminal. There were a few "siurells", examples of local product, and some leaflets, one for the local restaurant association. It was pitiable in truth. The ship was in port for sic hours, there were only 47 passengers, they were travelling on a ship with five-star dining, and the hype would have it that the restaurants would suddenly be inundated with high-net-worth custom from a ship that would normally set you back around three and a half grand for a seven-day cruise. By the time I got down to the port, it was gone eleven. The ship had been in port for over three hours and was due to set sail at two. I counted at least 20 passengers who were already returning. So much for the excursions, so much for the local restaurants.

As I was walking away from the terminal, my less than adequate photos about to be deleted, I wondered what first impressions a visitor on a cruise ship would have. As you leave the terminal area and head towards the Paseo Marítimo, there isn't, if I am being honest, anything that is particularly remarkable. In fact, there isn't anything remarkable. Pleasant, but then so are many places. And what of the sight as you come into port? To quote Son Fe Mick, who commented on my previous article about Sea Cloud (22 July, "The Phantom Cruise'"), there is a "bloody great rusty power station. When are they going to knock it down and build a 1000 year old cathedral?" The point is very well made. Enter Palma by sea and the cathedral dominates the landscape. Enter Alcúdia and it is an abandoned power station.

An architect friend of mine, who hadn't know the background to the power station and plans for its redevelopment (now almost certainly also abandoned) until I told him, was amazed at the idea that they would keep the chimneys, which is what the plans envisaged. Industrial heritage and its preservation is fine, but only in the right context. Alcúdia's power station isn't Battersea's. It isn't the Tate Modern, which was part of the inspiration for the plans. It should be removed, and that includes the chimneys. But chances are that it won't be, and so future cruise passengers (two ships are scheduled for next year but won't have that many more passengers than Sea Cloud) will be confronted with the sight of the power station.

Alcúdia as a cruise destination. Nice idea, but don't believe the hype.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.