The longest and heaviest ship to dock at Portland Port has arrived this morning.
Today has seen the inagural visit of Norwegian Cruise Line’s, Norwegian Breakaway.
Picture: PORTLAND PORT
It has brough the the greatest number of passengers on one ship that the port has dealt with to date. The ship can accommodate in excess of 4,000 passengers.
Passengers had a choice of visiting the local area or taking excursions to destinations further afield.
Portland Port's cruise season this year is set to be another record breaker with the greatest number of cruise calls and passengers to date.
Overall this year the port is expecting to handle 32 cruise ships bringing nearly 39,000 passengers into Portland.
Ian McQuade of Portland Port said: “The inaugural call of the Norwegian Breakaway is very exciting for the port and would not have been possible without the berth extension that was opened in April last year. We hope that she will be the first of many similar sized cruise ships to visit Portland Port.”
Picture: PORTLAND PORT
The first ship of the 2018 season earlier this month was the 20th visit by a Phoenix Reisen vessel.
As the first cruise line to reach this milestone at Portland, port bosses arranged for a Portland stone plaque to be created and this will be presented to the company.
Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise Line has a 50-year history in the cruise business and was responsible for introducing ‘freestyle cruising’ that revolutionised the industry by giving guests the freedom and flexibility to design their ideal holiday.
The firm currently operates 16 purpose-built cruise liners, including some of the newest and most contemporary ships at sea.
Portland Port is enjoying a cruise ship boom.
Over the last 10 years the numbers have grown substantially from just four calls and 2,000 passengers in 2009 to the record breaking figures for 2018.
With the increasing number of cruise ships, Portland Port is again looking to add to its pool of foreign language speaking volunteers to welcome passengers as they disembark from their cruise ship.
The most frequently spoken amongst passengers visiting Portland Port are German, Spanish, Italian and French. Expenses are covered for those helping out.
If you are interested in volunteering and would like to know more, email a.sandfordsmith@portland-port.co.uk
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