A record number of cruise ships visited the Porto Cruise Terminal in 2022, with the sector recovering quickly from COVID-19. The two cruise terminals welcomed 112 cruise ship calls (11 more than in the last full pre-pandemic seasons of 2018 and 2019), bringing 108,626 passengers to Porto and the Northern Region of Portugal.
Despite receiving more cruise ship calls, the Porto Cruise Terminal did not set a new record for passenger numbers, mainly due to onboard health protocols. In the first months of 2022, cruise ships sailed with significantly lower occupancy than usual. Nevertheless, passenger numbers were 22.5% higher than in 2019 and only surpassed by the figures for 2018 (-7%), which has been the best year on record to date.
Total GT figures recorded in 2022 exceed 6 million, 56% more than in 2019 and 33% more compared to 2018, numbers never before reached as the port receives more and more larger cruise ships.
Of the 112 cruise ships that visited the Porto Cruise Terminal last year, 22 were new to the port, including the debut of Disney Cruise Line operations. In addition, there were 6 turnaround operations.
Porto's Cruise Terminal is on track to break these records again in 2023, with approximately 140 cruise ship calls currently scheduled to visit the port next year, bringing around 180,000 passengers to Porto and Northern Portugal.
