The ship, carrying 2,360 passengers plus crew, docked at the British port’s new £26m deep water berth the evening before its scheduled day-long visit owing to strong winds.
An economic boost
According to Portland Port, the Norwegian Cruise Line ship provided an ‘economic boost,’ as its passengers poured into the local area, especially Weymouth town centre, filling shops, restaurants and bars before a planned day of excursions and trips.
Typically 50% of a cruise ship’s passengers join organised excursions, the majority of which stay in Dorset. A number 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.
‘Norwegian Dawn is always a very welcome visitor to the port,’ commented Bill Reeves, chief executive of Portland Port.
‘One of the secrets of success in the growth of our cruise business is to be as accommodating and flexible as we can be for our customers. Praise must go to our staff and suppliers for their quick response to make arrangements for Norwegian Dawn’s arrival, and shuttle bus transport for its passengers.’
He added, ‘On the evening of arrival, about half of the ship’s passengers headed off to Weymouth to enjoy the pubs and restaurants or sample the local fish and chips, and their arrival would have provided an unexpected economic boost for many catering, hospitality and related businesses in the area.’
Cruise calls at the port are estimated to make a contribution of approximately £10m to the local economy. This is based on statistics from Cruise Lines International Association based on spend per head, per passenger. The figure includes expenditure in shops, bars and cafes along with transport and tours. Further spend comes from crew given time off when in port, along with revenues through the port itself.
23% increase in cruise calls
Reeves went on to express gratitude towards local businesses for ‘providing a warm welcome and great service’ for passengers, and said Portland is looking forward to many more cruise calls during the second part of the season in what is a record breaking year for cruise at Portland. During the course of the season, ships carrying more than 130,000 passengers will visit – an increase of 23% on last year.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited.
Add Seatrade Cruise News to your Google News feed.  |
