Record Number of Cruiser Passengers Visiting the Baltic Sea

In 2018, more cruise passengers than ever before went ashore at a Baltic Sea port, according to a new report from Cruise Baltic, and further growth is expected in 2019.

The 29 Cruise Baltic ports, as well as the ports in St. Petersburg, Riga and Kiel, showed a 7.3 percent increase in cruise passenger numbers. In total, the ports welcomed 5,424,943 cruise passengers - a new record.

The average number of passengers per cruise ship has grown from 1,340 in 2008 to 2,017, accounting for part of the increase in visitor numbers, but still more cruise lines are heading to the Baltic Sea. Last year record numbers of cruise ships berthed at Baltic Sea ports; the number of cruise calls was 7.7 percent higher than in 2017.

The Port of Copenhagen was the busiest cruise port last year, followed by Rostock, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm. Tallinn experienced the largest increase in cruise ship calls, nine percent, closely followed by Helsinki with 7.1 percent and St. Petersburg by 6.6 percent. 

The prognosis for this year is promising, says Cruise Baltic. Last year, Baltic ports welcomed 5.4 million cruise guests and that is expected to grow to 5.8 million this year.

In 2019:

- The number of cruise passengers is expected to increase by 6.6 percent
- The number of calls is expected to increase by 3.6 percent
- The number of turnarounds is expected to increase by one percent.