Southampton - Cruise Capital of the UK
The Port of Southampton continues to be recognised as the cruise capital of the UK thanks to a £19 million investment from ABP. The fourth cruise terminal, which opened in May 2009, has been named the Ocean Cruise Terminal and will host some of the finest cruise liner ships the world has to offer.
The early days of passenger cruising are a far and distant memory from that of the modern facilities that can be found in Southampton today. Nicknamed ‘the gateway to the world’, the Port of Southampton saw spectacular numbers of ocean-going passengers step on and off liners in the city for much of the 20th century.
The aviation industry seemed destined to end the era of transatlantic cruising as more cost effective and shortened journey times became available, proving to be a hit with the busy lifestyles of the modern world. However, cruising has made a spectacular comeback in recent years and is continuing to grow.
In 1998 the port received 110 cruise vessels calls and 258,000 passengers, last year alone saw massive increases in both vessels and passengers as 280 cruise ships passed through carrying over 950,000 passengers. It is hoped that 2010 shall see the 1 million passenger barrier passed and it is forecasted that 2 million sea-goers will pass through in 2030.
Passengers from all round the world decide to start their journeys on the high seas from the Port of Southampton. The draw of the port’s state-of-the-art facilities has meant many use the city’s airport to fly in from far distant climes in order to sample the Southampton cruise-liner experience.
The direct impact that the port has on the city’s economy is in excess of £2 billion and creates over 16,000 employment opportunities. Continual development and investment over the forthcoming years will increase the numbers of the port’s workforce and boost the local economy further, demonstrating the importance of the port to the Southampton area.
Home to many of the world’s most renowned ships, Southampton’s status as the ‘Cruise Capital of Northern Europe’ looks set to remain in place for many years to come. P&O Cruises and Cunard Line house their UK Fleet in Southampton, whilst Royal Caribbean International, Fred Olsen Cruise Line and Saga Holidays use the port on a regular basis. 2008 saw the spectacular meeting of Cunard’s ‘three queens’ (‘Queen Victoria’, ‘QM2’ and ‘QE2’) as well as the naming of P&O’s ‘Ventura’ and Royal Caribbean’s ‘Independence of the Seas’ (who has recently announced Southampton as her home port) and the fond farewell departure of the QE2. In addition, Celebrity Cruises, a division of Royal Caribbean, earlier this year named their new ship, ‘Celebrity Equinox’ in the port which demonstrates how highly regarded the port is on a global scale. Its sister ship Celebrity Eclipse (currently under construction) will sail exclusively from Southampton – adding a further £15.5m to the local economy.
With forecasts predicting steady cruising growth over the foreseeable future and the ports plans to expand, The Port of Southampton looks set to be the busiest dockyard in Britain for a long time to come.
To find out more information about Southampton’s relationship with the sea or to find out about the many marine-related events taking place in and around the city, please visit: www.seacity.co.uk.