This morning, the Tallink Group ship Silja Serenade arrived on its first voyage in Riga this summer. The luxury ship, which normally runs on the Helsinki-Stockholm route, will serve the temporary Helsinki-Riga route this summer, in July and the first half of August. The ship will leave Helsinki and Riga every other day, offering holidaymakers ample opportunities to plan both shorter one-day cruises and longer trips to Finland and Latvia this summer.
Silja Serenade is one of the most luxurious ships in the Baltic Sea, built in 1990. It is 202 meters long, 35 meters wide and has 14 decks. The ship has 986 passenger cabins and can carry up to 2,800 passengers.
On its first voyage on the new temporary route from Helsinki, the ship went yesterday, June 26, picking up about 1,500 passengers, of whom 1,200 arrived in Riga for one day to return to Helsinki tonight, but about 300 chose to stay in Latvia to spend longer holidays and come back later. This morning, the ship was greeted by Ansis Zeltins, the manager of the Freeport of Riga.
The Chairman of the Board of Tallink Group, Paavo Nõgene, also went from Helsinki to Riga on his first voyage and will spend one day here.
Strict security measures are taken on board and all passengers are required to certify their health before the voyage. It is forbidden for people with any symptoms to travel by boat.
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