Reflecting on Port of Aberdeen's 2024 cruise season
Following another safe and successful cruise season, Communication Advisor, Lauren Strachan, caught up with Marlene Mitchell, Port of Aberdeen’s Commercial Manager to discuss her thoughts on this year’s cruise activity and what lies ahead for cruise at Port of Aberdeen.
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 cruise calls from early April running through to October. We also expect an increase in overall cruise calls and vessel tonnage.
We’re also set to welcome more maiden calls (first-time visits) as well as many returning cruise ships from 2024. This provides us with a great opportunity to showcase 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.
