Portsmouth International Port, a growing cruise destination on England’s south coast, will see a record 94 ships call at the facility in 2025, including several maiden visits by luxury cruise ships.
The port, located about 20 miles west of Southampton, will reach another milestone in 2025, when its shore power system launches in the spring, enabling up to three cruise ships to plug-in at the same time.
Increased port calls translate into welcome revenue for the port and surrounding areas, as each ship call can be expected to generate as much as £1.5 million ($1.8 million USD) for the local and regional economies. The estimate includes port fees and cruise guest spending as passengers book excursions and patronize local shops and restaurants.
“The international port is a vital part of our city’s infrastructure and history, generating £9.2 million ($11 million USD) in profit, which goes directly back into council services,” said Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council.
“The port is also making bold steps in sustainability with an aim to be emissions free by 2050, through ground-breaking shore power technology. Portsmouth is at the forefront of the UK port industry,” Pitt added.
The port’s shore power project, called Sea Change, will be the first in the UK to allow multiple ships to access the system simultaneously. Shore power drastically cuts emissions as ships can turn off their engines while in port and instead use the local electrical grid to support their hotel services.
In 2024, the port welcomed about 168,000 cruise guests, a number that exceeded a predicted 155,000 guests. 2024 also was the first full year of operation of the port’s new terminal, which opened in summer 2023.
The £11.25 million ($14.34 million USD) project has berthing capacity for ships up to 984 feet long, making the port accessible to some of the industry’s largest ships. The terminal is net carbon-neutral, and has cutting-edge systems such as seawater technology to heat and cool the building.
“Our new terminal has now welcomed over 168,000 cruise passengers and we have worked hard to secure some long-term partnerships with our unique cruise offering,” said Andrew Williamson, head of cruise and ferry at Portsmouth International Port.
Along with its green technologies, the port’s new terminal offers a lounge area, sky garden, and other visitor services.
Borealis to Make First Call of 2025 at Portsmouth
The 2025 cruise season officially begins on January 4, 2025, when Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Borealis sails roundtrip from the port on a 28-night Caribbean cruise. The 1,360-guest ship will make nearly a dozen calls to island destinations, including St. Maarten, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and Grenada.
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Also in January, Viking Cruises’ Viking Vela will visit. The new ship launched in December and accommodates 998 guests. Other ships making their maiden calls to Portsmouth include Silversea Cruises’ Silver Endeavour on May 5, 2025; Swan Hellenic’s SH Diana on May 21, 2025; Crystal’s Serenity on June 22, 2025; and Ritz-Carlton’s Ilma on July 8, 2025.
In July, Virgin Voyages will again base its Scarlet Lady at the port, offering British Isles, Iceland, and Northern Europe voyages through mid-September.
Other notable ships scheduled to call at Portsmouth in 2025 include Seabourn’s 458-guest Seabourn Sojourn, AIDA Cruises’ 2,200-guest AIDAsol, Hebridean Island Cruises’ 48-guest Hebridean Princess, Hapag Lloyd’s 400-guest Europa, and Azamara’s 690-guest Azamara Journey.
