News / Record cruise season ahead
A RECORD 29,000 passengers are expected to sail into Lerwick this summer on board 50 cruise liners, including the largest to ever visit Shetland.
Lerwick Port Authority yesterday (Wednesday) announced that 2010 would be its busiest year for cruise season ever, with more ships and more tonnage sailing into the port than ever before.
The season begins on 10 May with the arrival of National Geographic Explorer on the first of three visits.
Visitors peak in July when 19 ships call in to the port, and the season closes on a high note with the biggest ever visitor Grand Princess, weighing 108,806 gross tonnes, topping last year’s 102,587 gross tonnes Costa Magica.
This year will also see the port break through the million tonne barrier for the first time, with 1,218,272 gross tonnes beating last year’s record of 984,603 gross tonnes.
The 50 ships to have booked to visit the port so far beats the record of 48 set in 2003 and matched in 2005, and the previous record number of passengers was 26,000 in 2006.
Grand Princess will be one of eight vessels on maiden calls this year, the others being AIDAaura, Ocean Countess, MSC Poesia, Seabourn Sojourn, Gann, Costa Luminosa and Norwegian Sun.
Both the Norwegian Sun and Grand Princess will be on transatlantic repositioning cruises in the late autumn, crossing the Atlantic to spend the winter in the Caribbean.
The port’s deputy chief executive, Victor Sandison, said: “We have more than 5,000 vessels annually, but we do see the cruise business as a growing market. It is very important to us and we hope we can grow it further.”
Next month the port authority’s Gary Cooper will travel to Miami in search of new business at the industry’s leading international conference and exhibition from 15 to 18 March.
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