Port Lerwick’s 2020 cruise season launched last week with the arrival of Fritdtjof Nansen (Hurtigruten-owned vessel) that berthed at Victoria Pier while en-route from Bergen Norway to Kirkwall Scotland. The newbuild ship has been delivered early and is undertaking a pre-inaugural shorter cruise in the UK. It is also the first battery-powered cruise vessel to visit Lerwick Harbour.
According to Lerwick Port Authority Cruise Manager, Melanie Henderson, it was "always good to have an early start, maintaining the recent trend for seasons to extend at both ends, into February and October." She added their experienced Meet-and-Greet team and extensive service sector were geared-up for a record-breaking 9 months, expecting to handle 100+ cruise ships for the first time, the highest ship tonnage yet and the most passengers - 90,000+.
Along with repeat visits, 3 operators (Carnival, TUI, Mystic) will be newcomers to Port Lerwick in their itineraries for the first time. There are currently 115 ships booked to call at Lerwick, which is up 16% on the previous best last year and including 15 maiden calls.
The biggest ship this season, the 137,936 GT MSC Splendida is scheduled to arrive in August.