This year just 64 cruise ships are due to stop over in Guernsey, with 8 visiting Alderney, and 4 a piece for Herm and Sark.
Compared to historic numbers it looks bad, but the picture doesn’t get any better when you fill in the blanks.
In 2019 Guernsey had 91 ships booked in, already down from the 105 scheduled for 2018 and the 117 scheduled for 2017, and that number has continued to tumble ever since.
74 were initially scheduled to visit last year, which dropped down to 62 due to itinerary changes and bad weather.
The two that were subject to itinerary changes are both related to the Borealis.
Although she won’t be visiting the island in 2025, with thousands of potential passengers, its website does show available listings for Guernsey in 2026.
The largest ship due to come to Guernsey this year is the Ventura.
She’s due to bring 3,078 passengers from Porto on Monday 9 June, Monday 7 July, Friday 8 August and Friday 5 September en route to Southampton.
There’s also the Ambition coming our way. She will be sailing between Lorient and Tyne with a maximum of 1,904 aboard. She aims to make four stops here, in April (25), May (20), July (15) and August (25).
The Arcadia also carries an impressive number of passengers, with 2,094 potentially stopping off to visit Guernsey, although she is only expected to stop here twice this year, on Monday 14 July, and Thursday 4 September.
The first arrival of the season is scheduled for Friday 11 April, when the Silver Dawn is due to arrive from St Malo before setting off to Southampton.
She’ll have 596 passengers onboard, whilst the Amadea will have 624. She’ll be the last of the season on Monday 20 October, sailing from Bordeaux, onto Hornfleur.
In total, the Bailiwick could see up to 58,000 people stopping off during this year’s cruise season.
We were expecting more than 84,000 last year though, with some of the larger ships not making return bookings.
That 84k estimation was made before a slew of cancellations due to weather and the aforementioned itinerary changes though. So with a chance the weather could turn, and the 58k predicted visitors could also have a cloudy future.
The prospect of fewer cruise ships dropping anchor in local waters reached the States last week as a politician/retailer raised his concerns.
Deputy David de Lisle asked the Committee for Economic Development, and it’s President, Deputy Neil Inder, about the upcoming cruise ship season.
“Last year was a disaster in terms of the Guernsey cruise liner industry, very few vessels, and mainly small vessels,” he said. “And I note again this year with what is proposed, a large proportion, again, of small vessels for 2025. The future for the industry does not look bright. What is being done to attract back the larger cruise liners to Guernsey?”
In response, Deputy Inder stated that plans are already in place to see some of these larger ships return to the Bailiwick.
“Princess Cruises and MSC reduced their itineraries in 2023. They have three year ‘burns’ on their plans to come back to the island.
“As a consequence of that, we set up a steering group with Deputy Vermeulen and members of STSB. One of the significant issues with these larger vessels is infrastructure in the harbors. It’s as simple as that. It’s being able to offload passengers safely and easily.
“The negotiations with the cruise operators are ongoing, and we are likely to see an uplift back in, say, 2026/2027.”
Last year when those cruise ships pulled out, some stated that the congestions and lack of suitable infrastructure was to blame. You can read more about that story from last year HERE.
Although not referenced by the deputies, an ongoing Local Planning Brief, on the Harbour Action Areas (HAAs) of St Peter Port and St Sampson, would potentially impact these offerings. It’s due to return to the States chamber in April. You can read more about that HERE.