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Isle of Portland (Weymouth, Dorset England)

Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news

Rating:
Isle of Portland cruise port

Region
Ireland - UK - British Isles

Local Time
2023-03-29 14:12

min: 49 °F (9 °C) / max: 53 °F (12 °C) 52°F
11°C
Wind: 196°/ 10.1 m/s Gust: 17.1 m/sWind: 196°/ 10.1 m/s Gust: 17.1 m/sFresh breeze
10.1 m/s
Min / Max Temperature53 °F / 12 °C
49 °F / 10 °C
  Port Map

Isle of Portland is located in the English Channel and on Dorset's southern coast (southern England). Portland Island is connected to mainland Dorset (at Abbotsbury) via a narrow piece of land (named Chesil Beach, aka Chesil Bank) with a length of approx 29 km (18 mi). Enclosed between Chesil Beach and Abbotsbury is the freshwater lake Fleet.

Isle of Portland (Dorset, England)

The island is most famous for the white limestone quarried here. After WW2 (1939-1945) a British naval base was built at the peninsula's northern tip - Portland Bill (now closed). Pennsylvania Castle (currently a hotel) was built during the 18th century for John Penn - grandson of the founder of the USA's Pennsylvania state Admiral William Penn. Here are also the remains of the 11th-century Rufus Castle.

On the island's southern tip is located Portland Bill (lighthouse). From here, cruise passengers can visit Abbotsbury Swannery (nesting Mute Swans colony), Bovington Camp's Tank Museum, and the seaside resort Weymouth (Dorset).

Portland Port (UK) has locode GBPTL.

Portland UK cruise port

Portland Port's cruising season runs from April through late October / early November.

Port Portland (England UK) cruise port

Mein Schiff 5 (one of TUI Cruises newest ships / launched January 2016) made an inaugural visit on September 12, 2016. During the port call, a large number of passengers went on shore excursions, with over 75% of them visiting the popular Dorset attractions Jurassic Coast, Portland Bill, Corfe Castle, Minterne House, Abbotsbury Swannery. On September 20, 2016, another new (2016-built) cruise liner - ms Koningsdam (Holland America) visited Portland England for the first time.

In April 2017 was announced the near-completion of the new GBP 3 million cruise berth extension project allowing docking of bigger-sized ships (more info in the "terminal" section below). The total number of scheduled ship calls for 2017 was 24 (of which 10 first-time visiting ships) bringing over 36,000 passengers. In 2017, Portland UK reported a record-breaking year with handled nearly 36,000 passengers in 24 cruise ship calls. Also in 2017, an inaugural call made the ship Disney Magic (on May 23).

Port's most regular customer is Phoenix Reisen. Port's largest passenger liners so far are the NCL-owned sisterships Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Getaway and Norwegian Escape (LOA length 326 m, GT 145600 tons, max passengers 4820). Port's record-breaking day was July 15 (2018) with two simultaneous dockings (RSSC Regent-owned ships Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Navigator).

During season 2018, the cruise port had scheduled 44 ship calls (38% increase over 2017), including maiden visits from Pullmantur and Princess Cruises. The number of passengers (based on berth bookings for 2019) was 62,000. For 2020, Portland Port reported a record-breaking season with scheduled 46 ship calls (berth bookings) and estimated 80,000+ cruise tourists (passengers and crew).

New / first-time calling ships and companies in 2020 included Silver Whisper (Silversea), Celebrity Reflection (Celebrity), Amera (Phoenix Reisen), CMV Columbus, Island Princess and Regal Princess (Princess), Pullmantur Monarch, Seven Seas Splendor (RSSC-Regent).

Following the COVID crisis, in 2022 Portland Port had scheduled a total of 62 cruise ship calls. The season (April 21st through November 14th) started with Hanseatic Inspiration (Hapag-Lloyd) and ended with AIDAvita (AIDA). Maiden port calls were booked for Emerald Princess, Enchanted Princess, MS Maud (Hurtigruten), Disney Magic (DCL-Disney).

In August 2022 was announced Isle of Portland's GBP 26 million (~EUR/USD 30M) berth development/expansion project to result in ~16000 m2 additional docking space.

Isle of Portland cruise terminal

Cruise ships to Portland (England UK) dock in Portland Harbour, at the Outer Coaling Pier located on the island's northern coast. The harbor is a former British Navy base, and the pier is close to the causeway. There are free bus shuttles (complimentary provided by the Port Authority) transporting passengers right from and to the dock.

In 2017, Port Portland completed a GBP 3 million cruise pier extension project to allow docking of larger vessels. The upgraded terminal facility allows berthing of boats with max LOA length 340 m (1115 ft). The previous berth had capacity to dock vessels with max LOA length 300 m (985 ft). The first cruise ship to dock at the extended pier was Disney Magic (on May 23, 2017).

On July 6, 2019, NCL's liner Norwegian Spirit became the first passenger vessel to use Portland Port's new gangway (mobile passenger bridge) system. It was installed as part of an investment plan for improving and extending the port's cruise docking-mooring arrangements on Deepwater Berth and Outer Coaling Pier.

In August 2022 was announced Isle of Portland's GBP 26 million (~EUR/USD 30M) berth development/expansion project for adding ~16000 m2 docking space. By this cruise port development, the existing Deep Water Berth was removed and replaced with a new cruise berth. The new ship docking facility is actually an upgrade of the Outer Coaling Pier that was extended by adding a 74-m/243-ft long solid quay. The new Deep Water Berth (length 250-m/820-ft, water depth 12-m/39-ft) is fitted with 150-ton bollards (short, vertical posts for the mooring cables) and can handle vessels with max LOA length 350 m/1148 ft. The Outer Coaling Pier was expanded to 250 m (solid berth face) and water depth 11 m/36 ft. Piling works started in October 2022, and the project was slated for completion in April 2023 (fully operational by May 1st). Final quay surface finishing works were scheduled to be conducted in the period Oct 2023 thru Feb 2024. For the project were used ~380K tonnes of infill material (locally sourced) and ~4800 tons of steel.

Port Isle of Portland cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Isle of Portland, Weymouth, Dorset England. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.

DayShipArrivalDeparture
7 March, 2023
Tuesday
AIDA Cruises Cruises cruise lineAIDAbella08:0019:00
Booking.com

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