Southampton is expecting 305 calls and 1.2m passengers this year compared to 271 calls and 1.05m passengers in 2009. In 2000 the UK port received 147 calls and 331,000 passengers.
In 2010 seven new vessels will be showcased in Southampton, four for the UK market. Three of these will be homeporting: Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse and P&O Cruises’ Azura.
In recent years owner and operator Associated British Ports has invested £41m (E49.8m) in cruise facilities. The port has four dedicated cruise terminals all equipped with contemporary facilities. Ocean Terminal is the fourth and newest terminal and represents a £19m investment following a long term contract with Carnival Corp & plc.
Ships of 370m in length can be accommodated. Last week Norwegian Cruise Line’s 155,873gt Norwegian Epic came alongside but small ships such as Compagnie du Ponant’s newly delivered Le Boreal are also catered to. The port has extra berths for days when it has more than four cruiseships arriving.
The port is privately owned and receives no public funding for investment in cruise facilities.
