A busy summer has set Plymouth on course for a bumper cruise season next year with a dozen ships already lined up to visit Britain’s Ocean City in 2023.
The port welcomed thousands of cruise tourists this year with the post-pandemic return of passenger liners bringing an economic boost to the city.
There were seven individual cruise ship visits, including two by the small expedition vessel Ocean Nova in April and the arrival in June of the exclusive Residences at Sea vessel The World, the largest private residential ship on the planet, when she anchored in Plymouth Sound for three days. The Seabourn Ovation also visited that month.
Nicko Cruises’ Vasco da Gama arrived in August, carrying 500 German passengers who disembarked to spend a day in and around the city.
And in early September Ponant Cruises’ Le Champlain, under charter to luxury travel group Abercrombie & Kent, made an unscheduled call in to Mill Bay Docks – booked on a Friday for a Monday visit – demonstrating Plymouth’s ability to accommodate last minute cruise ship visits. During the day a Sir Francis Drake actor in authentic costume attended to bring some character to the event.
October saw the arrival of Holland America Line’s huge MS Rotterdam, making a 150th anniversary visit to celebrate the founding of the company in 1872 when the very first ship of the line SS Rotterdam visited Plymouth to collect mail and passengers on route to New York.
An onboard event took place, with travel trade, media and a port and city delegation including the Lord Mayor Councillor Sue Dann, the King’s Harbour Master and members of the Plymouth Cruise Partnership, to mark the historic occasion. There was an exchange of plaques with the Master of MS Rotterdam presenting a ship’s plaque to the city and the Lord Mayor handing over a Plymouth city plaque to the captain.
Plymouth really laid out the red carpet for this very successful cruise ship visit with the team of Cruise Ambassador volunteers led by Douglas and Annemarie Kerr giving a warm welcome to passengers and crew as they came ashore, providing information during the day and a farewell as they returned back to the ship prior to departure.
There was also a Town Cryer and a pop-up Welcome Centre at the Barbican and Commercial Wharf. Rotterdam is scheduled to return to Plymouth in 2023.
Next year sees an increase of the number of cruise ships scheduled to visit Plymouth with the current 12 bookings also including the Spirit of Discovery (Saga Cruises), Silver Dawn (Silversea Cruises) and Braemar (Fred Olsen Cruise Lines) with further enquiries being received.
Destination Plymouth chief executive Amanda Lumley said:
“The cruise tourism generated by the ships visiting Plymouth brings a welcome eonomic boost through passengers and crew spending on everything from visiting the attractions and taking tours, to the gift shops and other retail outlets, cafes, restaurants and boat trips. There are also the port revenues for berthing, pilotage, harbour fees, staff.
