Portland UK's cruise season 2020 is going to be another record-breaker by visiting passengers and ship calls. Numbers have been increasing from just 3 cruise ships back in 2000 to the 46 expected this year.
The 46 cruise ships will be bringing over 80,000 crew and passengers into Dorset and the surrounding area.
The cruise port’s season is much longer in 2020, with the first ship arriving on March 9 and the last, on November 25. Of the 46 vessels expected, ten are inaugural calls, with each receiving a hand-carved Portland stone plaque to commemorate the first visit to the Port.
The first to arrive on March 9 is Hurtigruten’s MS Fridtjof Nansen. She features a relatively small guest capacity of 530, which is on a more intimate scale in comparison with Norwegian Escape that is scheduled to visit for the first time shortly after. The Escape will become the heaviest ship (165,157 GT) and have the most passengers (4,266) of any vessel, to ever visit Portland.
Silversea is sending one of their ships to Portland for the first time in 2020, with Silver Whisper scheduled to visit on July 16. Celebrity Cruises are also visiting for the first time, with Celebrity Reflection visiting on May 14.
Other first-time ships include Amera, CMV Columbus, Island Princess, Regal Princess, Pullmantur Monarch, and Seven Seas Splendor.