By the end of October 2025, the cruise terminal at the Port of Leixões (Portugal) recorded 216,644 cruise passengers, representing an increase of nearly 30% compared with the same period in 2024 and establishing a new operational high for the facility. This figure marked the first occasion on which the terminal surpassed the 200,000 annual passenger mark since it first reached 100,000 in 2018. Passenger counts continued to rise through November, reaching 223,603 — an 18% increase over the corresponding period in the previous year — and full-year projections suggest the total will reach around 225,000 cruise passengers with approximately 148 cruise ship calls by year-end.
Through November, the terminal recorded 145 cruise ship calls, matching the previous year’s total, and hosted 13 maiden visits by ships making their first calls in Porto. Turnaround operations, involving passengers embarking and disembarking on the same vessel across voyages, expanded significantly: 12 such operations were recorded, 5 of which involved around 5,000 passengers each, resulting in a turnaround passenger total approaching 24,000 compared with just 2,121 in 2024.
The profile of vessels visiting the Port of Leixões also changed in 2025, with the combined gross tonnage of calls reaching 9.4 million GT, an increase of 9% over the prior year, indicating that larger ships were increasingly incorporating Porto into their itineraries. The mix of passengers reflected a broad international appeal: British nationals comprised the largest segment, closely followed by German and United States travellers.
These figures point to strengthened confidence by international cruise lines in the Port of Leixões and its cruise terminal operations, enhancing Porto’s attractiveness as a destination within European cruise schedules and reinforcing its role within the broader maritime tourism sector.