Isle of Portland (Dorset, England)
Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news
Region
Ireland - UK - British Isles
Local Time
2019-08-23 01:30
61°F 16.3°C
Light breeze2.1 m/s
71 °F / 22 °C 56 °F / 14 °C
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 length approx 29 km (18 ml). Enclosed between Chesil Beach and Abbotsbury is the freshwater lake Fleet.
The island is most famous for the white limestone quarried here. After WW2 (1939-1945) a British naval base was built at peninsula's southernmost 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 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 UK cruise port
Port's cruising season runs April through early-November.
Mein Schiff 5 (one of TUI Cruises newest ships / launched January 2016) made an inaugural visit on September 12, 2016. During ship's 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 ship - 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 MS Disney Magic (on May 23).
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 expected passengers (based on berth bookings for 2019) was 62,000.
Port's most regular customer is Phoenix Reisen. Port's largest passenger ship so far is NCL's Norwegian Breakaway (LOA length 326 m, GT 145600 tons, max passengers 4820). Port's record-breaking day was July 15 (2018) with two docked ships (Regent's Seven Seas Explorer and Seven Seas Navigator).
Isle of Portland cruise terminal
Cruise ships to Portland Island (England) dock in Portland Harbour, at a pier located on the isle's northern coast. The harbour is a former British Navy base, and the pier is close to the causeway. There are free bus shuttles (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 cruise ships. The upgraded terminal facility allows docking of vessels with LOA length up to 340 m (1115 ft). The previous berth allowed docking of vessels with LOA length up to 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 port's new gangway (mobile passenger bridge) system. It was installed as part of an investment plan for improving and extending port's cruise docking-mooring arrangements on Deepwater Berth and Outer Coaling Pier.
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, 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.
| Day | Ship | Arrival | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August, 2019 Thursday |  Norwegian Spirit | 09:00 | 19:00 |
| 6 August, 2019 Tuesday |  ms Rotterdam | 08:00 | 23:00 |
| 13 August, 2019 Tuesday |  Oceania Marina | 11:00 | 21:00 |
The Isle of Portland cruise port map is interactive. It shows the port's exact location, along with the real-time cruise ship traffic (if any) in its vicinity - today, and right now. By zooming-out you can see other cruise ship ports located near Isle of Portland, Dorset, England.
If you lose the Isle of Portland location on the map, simply reload the page (also with F5 button). This feature is integrated with the CruiseMapper's cruise ship tracker tracking the vessels' current positions at sea and in ports.
- Cruise Industry
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