We will have to wait until next year for large and luxurious cruise ships entering the Port of Gdansk. For on 23 September, with the mooring of the cruise ship Clio at the WOC II quay, this year’s cruise season came to an end. It was certainly a record year in terms of the number of calls.
The 2022 season for visits by foreign guests circumnavigating Europe and the world on luxury ships should be considered very successful. From April to September, cruise ships called at the Port of Gdansk a total of 79 times.
During the pandemic period, the sea cruise market collapsed. But this year brought a clear rebound.
Due to the war in Ukraine, there was more cruise ship traffic in the Baltic ports. This was due to a decision by the shipowners – no passenger vessels were calling at Russia’s largest passenger port in St. Petersburg. On the other hand, cruise ships were eagerly visiting Polish ports.
In the Port of Gdansk, 79 ships with 29.5 thousand passengers on board were serviced. The record year so far in terms of calls was 2018. At that time, 67 vessels with just over 30,000 passengers on board entered the Port of Gdansk.
“This season was definitely the best in the port’s history. Both in terms of the number of vessels calling at the port and in terms of revenue from port charges, which was nearly 2.5 times the previous record in 2018. We want to promote the Port of Gdansk as an ideal destination for voyages among foreign shipowners, as well as talk about the huge tourism potential of our region, which is why we are present at the largest cruise fair in the world,” – explains Michał Stupak, client manager at the Port of Gdansk Authority SA.
This year, the highest number of calls was in July – as many as 23 (8.7 thousand passengers). The largest ship was Marina with a length of 239 m, but also on this vessel served 1 026 passengers, the most of all the cruise ships that docked in the Port of Gdansk. In turn, vessels from the ‘Viking’ series, owned by the Viking Ocean Cruises shipowner, visited Gdańsk as many as 22 times.
The next year, 2023, already looks very promising, as 80 vessels have already been booked into the Port of Gdansk’s portfolio.
photos: Port of Gdansk
source: PortalMorski.pl
