Manila, Philippines — The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) welcomed the maiden voyage of Carnival Panorama, a cruise ship managed and operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, for the Philippine leg of her itinerary, docking at the South Harbor’s Eva Macapagal Super Terminal on Friday, 18 October 2024.

MARINA Administrator Sonia B Malaluan who attended the commemorative program personally witnessed the grandeur and luxury of the vessel and took the opportunity to speak to some Filipinos working on-board as part of the hospitality crew of the ship.

Capt. Luca Lazzarino who introduced key officials of the ship mentioned that visit of Carnival Panorama to the Philippines is a fitting tribute to the more than 400 Filipinos working on-board, where their family members can enter the ship to see where their loved ones work away from home for many months.

“This is a potential market for the Philippines. We need to develop more merchant marine officers, and prepare them to command this kind of big ships in the future”, Malaluan said when all key officers of the ship were introduced.

Launched in 2019, Carnival Panorama is CCL’s third Vista-class ship, with a capacity of 4,000 guests and 1,450 crew members. Some of the Carnival Panorama’s crew members are Filipinos. The cruise ship entered drydock in Singapore for refurbishments before it started the 25-night Transpacific Carnival journey, with stops in Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Guam and Hawaii before returning to its homeport in Long Beach, California.

Other government officials who attended this commemoration activity included Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and Assistant Secretary for Maritime, Atty. Julius Yano.

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