In 1991 when Cruise Europe began, Falmouth received six calls with 665 passengers. Twenty years later the numbers have risen to 27 and 17,872 respectively.
The UK port’s best year to date was in 2006 when the port received 32 transit calls carrying 25,325 passengers and 28 turnarounds with 24,731 passengers.
On 25 separate occasions the port has welcomed two ships on the same day. Memorable calls included Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa on her maiden cruise and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Black Watch on her final UK cruise. Royal Princess was as regular caller in the past (pictured) and Crown Princess and sister Emerald Princess are the largest ships to have called to date.
Facililties at the port are essentially the same but the port has been and continues to try to dredge the port so that it can accommodate Freedom-class ships alongside.
As the town has only 20,000 inhabitants a cruise call can make a big difference to the local businesses. People are very keen to welcome the ships and their passengers which has resulted in the a group of volunteers forming, called the Falmouth Ambassadors, who meet and greet all passengers on the quayside.
