Approximately 92,000 passengers will call at the Scottish port in 2018, up 81% from 2017
By
Elizabeth Robinson |
Lerwick Harbour in Shetland, Scotland, expected to welcome a record of 92,000 passengers on 91 cruise ships, an increase of 81% from last year’s all-time high of 50,768 passengers.
The cruise season opened on 13 March with the arrival of Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ (CMV) Magellan in Lerwick Harbour.
Over the next eight months, the port will welcome 11 maiden calls, as well as the most passengers on a single vessel to date – more than 4,500 guests will arrive on MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia. July and August will be the busiest months, with 26 and 22 calls respectively.
The final call of the cruise season will be CMV’s Marco Polo on 11 October 2018, arriving from Torshavn in the Faroe Islands on a nine-night ‘Scottish Highlights and Faroe Cruise’.
“The scale of cruise activity this year will make it a great season for Lerwick and Shetland, including an expanded excursion programme in recognition of the higher passenger numbers,” said Victor Sandison, senior commercial executive of Lerwick Port Authority.
In response to the increasing number of passengers, local shore excursion provider Island Vista has added new experiences to its programmes. They will include a ‘Sound of Shetland’ excursion showing visitors Shetland’s musical heritage via a visit to Lerwick’s Mareel waterfront auditorium.
Numbers are set to rise again in 2019.
“We are currently anticipating over 107,000 passengers in 2019, with 109 ships already booked and more anticipated,” said Sandison. “Our hopes for further ahead have been encouraged by this month’s participation at Seatrade Cruise Global as a member of Cruise Scotland.”