It is gearing up for 150 calls carrying 225,000 passengers to Edinburgh, Fife and Dundee. The latter is set for a bumper year with 14 cruise calls scheduled, the first being Ambassador Cruise Line’s second ship Ambition on May 13. By contrast, in 2022 the port welcomed four cruise ships.
The vessels will utilise the Port of Leith, Rosyth and Dundee’s cruise berth as well as anchorages in the River Forth for Newhaven and South Queensferry.
Cruising in Scotland
The 2022 season saw over 100 cruise calls and 26 inaugural ship visits to Scotland with a further 62 vessels arriving at Forth Ports’ London facilities, which are also expected to see strong growth this year.
The cruise calendar in Scotland traditionally runs between April and October. This year, the season kicks off on April 11 with the arrival of Viking Venus at deep anchorage near Newhaven.
Sustainability goals
Work is being undertaken to make Edinburgh a more sustainable destination and EZ Bike Tours located next to the port provides environmentally friendly electric bike tours of the city as a shore excursion option. At Leith, shore power is available.
Bouncing back from the pandemic
Rob Mason, head of cruise, Forth Ports, said, ‘It is brilliant to see the cruise industry return so strongly and continue to grow this year… Since the restart of the industry last year we have been working hard with the city, destination partners and the wider cruise industry to meet all of the industry's challenges and deliver another successful cruise season.
‘We know that there are significant economic benefits to the country as hundreds of thousands of passengers visit our cities and we look forward to welcoming them this year.’
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