Gothenburg to See Fewer, but Bigger Cruise Ships in 2015

zoom Swedens Port of Gothenburg has opened its cruise season today with the arrival of the German cruise ship AIDAcara with 1,200 passengers onboard. A total of 52 ships carrying 100,000 passengers are due to visit Gothenburg in 2015. The number of calls this year has fallen by 21 compared to 2014. However, the port expects 100,000 passengers this year, only 8,000 less than last year. This year we will be welcoming more large cruise ships to Gothenburg than previously. The general trend in the cruise industry is towards bigger ships carrying more passengers, said Jill Söderwall, Head of Cruise Operations at the Port of Gothenburg. The fall in the number of calls has not just affected Gothenburg but the whole of Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, according to the port. The number of visits by cruise ships is down by around 5 per cent throughout the region. Instead, bigger ships have been brought into service carrying more passengers, which could be the result of new demands for cleaner and thus more expensive marine fuel in the North Sea and the Baltic, said Söderwall.