Sister ships make double cruise call at Portland Port

11/06/2026

Sister ships make double cruise call at Portland Port

It was a double celebration when Portland Port welcomed two ships from the AIDA cruise line on the same day for the first time. Sister vessels AIDAsol and AIDAluna made history as the first ships from AIDA to call simultaneously at the port in Dorset, UK. The milestone came during Portland Port’s 30th anniversary year and as a bumper cruise season gets underway. Coincidentally, it is also AIDA’s 30th anniversary this year too. Dignitaries from Portland Port and AIDA exchanged plaques to mark the occasion, while many of the ships’ 4,388 passengers headed off on excursions and complimentary shuttle buses. Ian McQuade, Portland Port commercial director and chair of trade association Cruise Britain, said: “It was another first on a day to remember. “We welcome AIDA’s ships and passengers on a regular basis but this was the first time that two of its vessels called together. “It was a wonderful sight to see the sister ships sail into Portland Harbour and its passengers disembark, including many setting off on our complimentary shuttle buses to stops on Portland and in Weymouth. “AIDA has been a strong supporter as we have built the port’s cruise business to the point where we are hosting 52 separate calls this year with more than 100,000 passengers, injecting circa £10m into the local economy. “We are grateful for its support and we were thrilled to be able to celebrate the double call in our 30th anniversary year.” The AIDAsol arrived at Portland from Fishguard in Wales on the penultimate stop of a nine-day round trip. The AIDAluna called at the port on a 14 day round-trip from Hamburg. Dorset Volunteer Ambassadors helped welcome passengers at Portland and the Weymouth Ukuleleans serenaded them as they returned from trips before the Nothe Fort Artillery Volunteers fired a three gun salute to mark the ships’ departures. Typically, about 45% of visiting cruise guests go on an organised excursion to various attractions throughout Dorset, and beyond to Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath. The majority of the remaining guests avail themselves of the port’s complimentary shuttle bus service, either choosing to stay on Portland or travel into Weymouth. Ian said: “Cruising continues to grow in popularity. “A great deal of work is dedicated behind the scenes to attracting and accommodating cruise ships, which provides a valuable boost to local businesses in off-peak months as well as at the height of the season. “Feedback from cruise lines and passengers is consistently positive about the area, the warm welcome they receive and the attractions on offer.” The £10m injected into the local economy annually is based on statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) trade body for spend per head of passenger. It includes expenditure in shops, bars, cafes, tourism attractions along with transport and tours. In addition, further expenditure comes from the crew that are given time off when in port along with berthing revenues through the port itself and businesses in the local supply chain. Portland Port opened a £26m deepwater berth in 2023, allowing it to welcome larger vessels, including ships up to 350m in length on opposite berths on the same day. The port opened as a commercial business in 1996 following its closure as a Royal Naval Base.

15/09/2025

Portland Port makes splash with twin christening

It was a double celebration at Portland Port when a naming ceremony was held for two new state-of-the art vessels. Dignitaries and guests watched the christening of the Wyke Castle tug and the Silverwell pilot boat on the port’s Dock Jetty before an exhilarating demonstration of the vessels’ capabilities. The multi-million-pound investment in the new for Portland Harbour Authority’ comes as the port continues to grow. It follows the opening of a £26m new deepwater berth in 2023. Portland Port chairman Christopher Langham was joined for the naming ceremony by the Naval Regional Commander for Wales, the West of England and Channel Islands, Commodore Tristram Kirkwood OBE ADC RN and Commodore Sam Shattock, Commodore of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA). A commemorative plaque was unveiled on the Wyke Castle before Commodore Shattock named and blessed the tug with a bottle of sparkling wine from the Langham Wine Estate. Mr Langham said: “We are here to name this fine tug boat and we also have a new pilot boat for good measure. We really now have the full toolkit and can go out and grow the business even further.” Commodore Shattock said: “It’s an amazing honour and privilege to be here to name this vessel.” He added ‘God bless her and all who sail in her’ before breaking the bottle against the ship. The ceremony also included a champagne reception and a lunch for more than 30 guests. They included the Mayor of Portland Town Council Cllr Charlie Flack and Mayoress Maria Flack. Crew from the visiting RFA Lyme Bay also attended along with businesses based at the port, councillors, representatives from Dorset Council, Portland residents and Weymouth Town Council Mayor Caroline Nickinson and Mayor’s Consort Richard Nickinson. Wyke Castle continued in the tradition of being named after local castles, apart from the previous tug which was named in honour of late Portland Port director Rupert Best in 2021. The port’s pilot boats are named after local wells with the Silverwell being the latest. Portland Port chief executive Bill Reeves said: “These new, state-of-the-art vessels represent further significant, multi-million-pound investment in the business. “They will enhance our capabilities and enable the growth of our business as well as that of our customers and tenants at the port while supporting the local economy.” The Wyke Castle joins the Rupert Best and Maiden Castle in the port’s fleet. She will be used for towage, manoeuvring and support for a diverse range of vessels, including cruise, merchant and MOD ships.

14/01/2025

Portland Port looks ahead to 2025 cruise season

Portland Port in Dorset is looking ahead to a bumper 2025 after it welcomed more than 117,000 passengers on a total of 52 cruise ships during 2024. It hosted calls from vessels on 10 out of 12 calendar months – all months apart from January and March - from 18 different lines carrying a host of different nationalities. The port also fielded more enquiries than ever before about unscheduled visits which resulted in a record nine short-notice stops, including Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on June 1. These were due to weather conditions elsewhere or strike action in France. It was one of the port’s most successful years for cruise calls in its 28-year history. Highlights also included the first call by Princess Cruises’ 345-metre-long Sun Princess with 4,300 passengers in her maiden season. After ships docked at the port’s £26m deepwater berth, passengers disembarked for organised tours to a range of destinations or boarded the port’s complimentary shuttle bus service into Weymouth. The calls contribute circa £10m to the local economy, based on statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) trade body for spend per passenger. Now the port is gearing up for the 2025 season when there are 60 cruise ships provisionally scheduled to call with over 100,000 passengers. This will include five turnaround calls by the luxury Hebridean Island Cruises’ Hebridean Princess, which carries just 50 guests. This year, 2025, will be the fourth consecutive season since Covid with over 50 calls and 100,000 guests. It will also be a record call number for a normal cruise season. There will also be inaugural visits in 2025, including the first ever calls by luxury cruise line Silversea and expedition cruise line Albatros Expeditions. The first call of 2025 was a short notice visit by the Spirit of Discovery, with just under 1,000 passengers onboard, at the start of a 49-day trip to the Caribbean and South America. It was diverted to Portland on 7 January due to weather conditions elsewhere. Passengers were taken on complimentary buses to stops in Portland and Weymouth on the evening of its arrival and during the next day, bringing an out of season boost to the local economy. Ian McQuade, Portland Port general manager commercial and chair of Cruise Britain, said: “It has been another highly successful cruise season and one of our best so far. “Positive feedback from cruise lines and their passengers demonstrates just how much they enjoy coming to Portland for the array of local attractions and warm welcome they receive. “The sustained demand for calls and the record number of short-notice visits is testament to relentless work behind the scenes by a dedicated team to attract and accommodate ships and bring circa £10m to the local economy. “It also justifies the faith shown to open our £26m deepwater berth in 2023 to accommodate some of the world’s largest vessels of up to 350m in length. “We are very grateful to all those who have contributed to the success in 2024 and have made passengers feel so welcome, including our dedicated welcome team, shuttle bus operators and all those in local shops and businesses. “We are looking forward to another busy season in 2025 and further ahead as Portland continues to grow in popularity.” At the end of 2024 Ian was re-elected to serve a further three year term as chair of Cruise Britain. He initially took the reins of the trade group in April 2023 on an interim basis before being confirmed in the role full time. Ian said: “It is a great honour to be the chair of Cruise Britain and I am delighted that my tenure has been extended by a further three years”. Among the lines to call at Portland Port in 2024 were Ambassador, AIDA Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Compagnie Française de Croisières, Cunard, Disney, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, MSC Cruises, Plantours, Princess Cruises, Ponant, Phoenix Reisen, Regent Seven Seas, Saga, Seabourn Cruise Lines and TUI Cruises. There were five double cruise call days when the port hosted two ships at the same time on its deepwater berth. They included October 15 when the greatest number of passengers – 7,954 – arrived in a single day on the Holland America Line’s Rotterdam and the MSC Cruise’s MSC Virtuosa. The highest number of passengers on any ship was 5,441 on the MSC Virtuosa when she called on October 15. Sun Princess, on her first voyage in UK waters has a gross tonnage of 177,882 and breadth of 42 metres, she is the largest ship in Princess Cruises’ 16-strong fleet and called at Portland after spending her first summer cruising in the Mediterranean. Ian McQuade and Sun Princess Captain Craig Street exchanged commemorative plaques to mark the ship’s inaugural call. There were a total of 11 inaugural calls, including the Queen Mary 2, German line Plantours Kreuzfahrten’s MS Hamburg, French line Ponant’s Le Champlain, CFC’s Renaissance, the Oceania Sirena, Seven Seas Mariner and AIDAsol. The final cruise call of 2024 was the AIDAmar on December 10 with 2,097 passengers. The £10m that cruise calls bring into the local economy is based on statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) trade body for spend per head of passenger. The figure includes expenditure in shops, bars, cafes, tourism attractions along with transport and tours. In addition, further expenditure comes from the crew that are given time off when in port along with berthing revenues through the port itself and businesses in the local supply chain. Typically, about 50% of visiting cruise guests go on organised excursions, the majority of which stay in Dorset. Most of the remaining passengers explore the local area using the port’s complimentary shuttle bus service, either choosing to stay on Portland or travel into Weymouth. Some also use taxis to travel to and from Portland to Weymouth and local destinations. A variety of businesses benefit from cruise visits throughout the year, including off-peak calls in the autumn and winter. The port spends hundreds of thousands of pounds on its complimentary shuttle bus taking passengers from the port quayside to stops in Portland and Weymouth. Each year the port makes road space bookings with Dorset Council for the route its shuttle buses take for every cruise call. Portland Port has contracted a professional traffic management company for all cruise calls, which includes the provision of traffic marshals. It has also worked with the bus operator to stagger the arrival of vehicles and limit the number on the road at any one time. Operations and drop-off points are actively reviewed, which included Spring Road behind Hope Square and Commercial Road in 2024, with preparations still underway for 2025. The Portland Port estate provides employment for circa 300 people in non-seasonal work. The port itself directly employs 57 in this total. About half of the people employed live on Portland and the rest in Weymouth, or very close by. There are also indirect employees - such as hauliers and suppliers - as a consequence of direct employment.