Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - 09:07 by ce-press
Leixoes clocked up 78 calls last year, 11 more than in 2013 making 2014 the best year ever. AIDA Cruises and TUI Cruises began operations at the port for the first time bringing AIDAluna and Mein Schiff 1. Other newcomers were Adonia, Louis Aura, Horizon and Costa Luminosa. The highlight of the year was the arrival of TUI Cruises’ newbuilding Mein Schiff 3 on her maiden voyage.
Passengers disembarking at Matosinhos and Leca da Palmeira numbered 64,440 - an average of 826 per ship - 39% up on 2013. The large majority of these passengers were from the UK (44%), followed by Germany (16%) and the USA (15%). There was a large increase in passengers from France and Italy, which together represented last year 8% at 5,000.
The most significant growth occurred in larger vessels with 15 vessels being more than 250m in length compared with eight in 2013. Last year 49% (37) of visiting ships were more than 200m in length creating a new record at the port. The average length of vessels also increased from 182m in 2013 to 195m last year, an increase of 7%.
In 2014, the new pier in Matosinhos received 41 calls, which means a new record, surpassing the 37 vessels of 2012 and receiving 49% more passengers than in 2013. Since its opening, the Porto Cruise Terminal has received 126 calls and more than 170,000 passengers.
