All Leisure Holidays to base ships at Portsmouth until at least 2018

British cruise operator All Leisure Holidays (ALH) is to base ships at Portsmouth International Port until at least 2018 after extending its existing contract with the UK port.

ALH, which owns Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises, has called at Portsmouth since 2010.

“I’m delighted that ALH has extended its relationship with Portsmouth International Port for another three years,” said Rupert Taylor, harbour master at Portsmouth International Port. “The first agreement started in 2010, the same year we opened our modern cruise terminal and a key reason the company chose to base ships with us for the summer season. Since then we have helped ALH send thousands of passengers off on holidays of a lifetime from Portsmouth International Port and look forward to watching that number grow over the coming years.”

Swan Hellenic’s 350-passenger Minerva, which has sailed Northern Europe, Baltic and Scandinavian cruises from Portsmouth for the past five years, will continue to do so for at least another three. Minerva will open the port’s 2016 cruise season when she departs on a two-week cruise to destinations on the Loire, Seine and Garonne in France on 15 April. Throughout the summer, the ship will offer nine cruises from Portsmouth, calling at ports in Europe, the Baltic, Iceland, the Norwegian fjords, the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Portugal and Spain.

“Our cruise brands have always had fantastic service from Portsmouth International Port and we are looking forward to continuing this relationship for the foreseeable future,” said Stuart Horne, ALH’s director of Fleet Operations. “Portsmouth is a fantastic base from which we will be offering 11 cruise departures with Voyager and Minerva during 2016 to some incredible destinations such as Iceland, the White Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia.”