The first ship to cancel, the Costa Magica, was carrying 1,800 passengers and was due to dock on 10 August. The second, Aida Cara, was carrying 1,200 passengers and should have docked on Monday this week.
The change of plans was confirmed by the office of Madeira’s Regional Secretary for the Economy, Tourism and Transport, which said “the two cancellations were related to the fires.”
Regarding the latter cancellation, the office added that its passengers sought, and indeed some had already booked, excursions to areas affected by the fires, due to which the operator decided to skip the port-of-call.
“The Office, in the same way that it is helping national hospitality inform and control the effects on the exterior, is also working with the cruise sector to overcome the situation”, it said in a statement.
More than 200 homes were destroyed and three people died in the fires that swept through Funchal, Calheta, and Ponta do Sol. An elderly people’s home, a hospital, clinics and hotels were evacuated as the fires tore through the island.