Isle of Portland (Weymouth, Dorset England)

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.

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. Its cruise business started in 1996.

Portland UK cruise port

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

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 by handling nearly 36,000 passengers in 24 ship calls. Also in 2017, an inaugural call made the Disney Magic ship (May 23rd).

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) deepwater berth development/expansion project. Completed in 2024, it resulted in ~16000 m2 additional docking space.

For 10 months in 2024 (excluding January and March), the cruise port received 52 ship calls and 117,000+ passengers.

The Port's 2025 cruise schedule lists 60 berth bookings/ship calls (estimated 100,000+ passengers) including 5 turnarounds (roundtrip voyages planned for Hebridean Princess).

Isle of Portland cruise terminal