Aberdeen

United Kingdom

Destination Information

Port of Aberdeen has a proven track record of welcoming boutique cruise vessels and now extends that expertise to larger vessels at the new £400m South Harbour. The port is well positioned to become a major player in the UK cruise industry and has already seen Aberdeenshire recently highlighted by Good Housekeeping as best place to visit in 2023. Stretching from the mountains to the sea, with “one of the most architecturally distinctive cities in Europe” to “one of the world’s most outstanding coastlines”, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, in North-East Scotland, truly is a majestic tourism destination. The region offers everything from a profound maritime heritage to cutting-edge culture, colourful street art tours and impressive architecture plus captivating castles, glorious seascapes, ancient sites and mysterious standing stones, quaint fishing villages and sandy coves along with picturesque havens to explore such as Portsoy to the north and Stonehaven to the south.

Port of Aberdeen Aberdeen Harbour Board - VTS & Pilots

Christopher Whetham
Commercial Manager

16 Regent Quay
AB11 5SS Aberdeen
United Kingdom

+44 (0)12 24 59 70 00

c-whetham@portofaberdeen.co.uk

https://www.portofaberdeen.co.uk

16 Regent Quay
AB11 5SS Aberdeen
United Kingdom

+44 12 24 59 70 00

vts@aberdeen-harbour.co.uk

http://www.aberdeen-harbour.co.uk

Port Information

Destination Highlights

Balmoral Castle
Queen Victoria described Balmoral, in Royal Deeside, as her ‘dear paradise in the Highlands’ and it remains a private home of the Royal Family, with grounds and gardens open to visitors.
Duthie Park
Duthie Park, a fabulous 44-acre park located in the city is a purposely designed park, with superb flower beds, ponds, statues and the David Welch Winter Gardens for exotic plant lovers.
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Aberdeen Maritime Museum tells the story of the city's long relationship with the Sea. This award-winning museum houses a unique collection covering shipbuilding, fast sailing ships, fishing.
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club
Listed in the Top 10 courses in Scotland this is the 8th oldest golf course in the world. A traditional out and back links course it is regarded by many as having the finest first nine holes in golf.
Whisky Tours
Take a trip to visit one of the many distilleries and find out why we call whisky the ‘water of life’. Tours range from basic to detailed, and many distilleries offer tutored tastings.
Castle Fraser
Castle Fraser is the most elaborate Z-plan castle in Scotland >300 acres (1.2 km2) of landscaped grounds, woodland and farmland which includes a walled kitchen garden of the 19th century.

Good to know

Guest Services Next Airport

Passenger terminal	no
City centre distance	1.23km

Airport name	-
Airport distance	10km

Port News

Port of Aberdeen celebrates another record-breaking cruise season

October 29, 2025 15:26

Aberdeen’s rise as one of the UK’s leading cruise destinations gathered pace in 2025, with 43,000 guests welcomed – an impressive 79% increase on 2024. The growth was driven by a record 65 cruise calls, up more than 50% year on year, alongside a trend of larger vessels berthing at the port’s new £420 million Aberdeen South Harbour. The 2025 cruise season was brought to a close on Saturday 20 September with the arrival of Viking Vela at South Harbour. Highlights included maiden calls from Viking Cruises, the arrival of The Ritz-Carlton’s Ilma, the return of the magnificent 292m-long Costa Favolosa, and hosting Cruise Britain’s prestigious Annual Summer Event in June. Guests were greeted throughout the season by Alba Bagpipes on the quayside who joined VisitAberdeenshire’s ‘Welcome to Aberdeenshire’ volunteers to give a warm, world-class welcome. The volunteers play a significant role in welcoming and assisting guests in discovering what Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire has to offer, everything from exploring the city by open-top bus to excursions out to Deeside, Dunnottar and the Garioch. The CruiseAberdeenshire partnership continued its efforts to attract new cruise lines and promote the region on the global stage, exhibiting at Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami and Seatrade Europe in Hamburg. Chris Foy, CEO, VisitAberdeenshire, said: “The growth in cruise numbers 2025 has been celebrated by tourism, hospitality and retail businesses across the city and shire. The first impression of our destination remains as important as ever, so with the support of Peterson Energy Logistics, we expanded the quayside volunteer programme this year to offer even more warm welcomes and visitor information to passengers from all over the world. Looking ahead, the VisitAberdeenshire team are advising more businesses on how to get ‘cruise-ready’ with an ambition to spread the benefits further into Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.” Bob Sanguinetti DL, CEO, Port of Aberdeen, continued: “We’re proud to provide cruise operators with a seamless, high-quality experience backed by first-class infrastructure and exceptional customer service. We’re excited to welcome even more visitors to discover everything Aberdeen and the wider region has to offer.”