Reflecting on Port of Aberdeen's 2024 cruise season
Following another safe and successful cruise season, Lauren Strachan, Communication Advisor, caught up with Marlene Mitchell, Commercial Manager, to discuss the 2024 season and future plans for cruise at Port of Aberdeen.
Marlene joined the port in April 2018 as Business Development Manager, before transitioning to her current Commercial Manager role in February 2021. In her current role, Marlene leads the development, implementation, and delivery of Port of Aberdeen's commercial strategy, with a focus on driving revenue growth and activity, securing business, and investment return from commercial activities.
Since stepping into the Commercial Manager role, Marlene has been instrumental in the growth of the cruise business, which has become even more exciting now we can accommodate significantly larger cruise ships with the opening of Aberdeen South Harbour.
With the conclusion of this year’s cruise season, discuss your thoughts on our 2024 cruise activity.
This year has been exciting as it marked the first full operational cruise season at South Harbour. It also saw the arrival of the flamboyant 290-metre Costa Favolosa, our largest cruise ship to date.
Throughout the 2024 cruise season, we welcomed 49 ships and almost 24,000 guests and crew to the city. Unfortunately, five cruise calls did not arrive in port due to poor weather conditions. Which, though disappointing, is something we have no control over.
In addition to the cruise activity at South Harbour, we continued to support the expedition cruise sector at North Harbour with both transit and turnaround calls.
I’d like to thank the Operations, Marine and SHEQ Departments for their support with the detailed planning and ensuring the smooth arrival and departure of each cruise ship.
What’s next for Port of Aberdeen in terms of cruise activity?
The 2025 cruise season will be slightly extended, with calls starting in early April and continuing through to October. I also expect an increase in both cruise calls and vessel tonnage.
We’re also set to welcome more maiden calls (first-time visits), as well as many returning ships from 2024. This provides us with a great opportunity to showcase both the port and the wider region.
It’s an exciting time for the port as we continue to work collaboratively with the CruiseAberdeenshire team to further enhance our cruise offering and grow this sector of the business.
As the port continues to evolve, particularly with our transition towards net zero by 2040, I’ll remain focused on developing strong relationships with cruise line executives, shore excursion teams, and agents to ensure we're all aligned to promote Aberdeen as a fabulous destination that can't be missed.
