Carnival owns many of the world’s leading cruise lines, including P&O Cruises, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and AIDAsol, which is due to make its maiden voyage to the island in April.
That will be the first of three scheduled sailings this year which are expected to collectively bring 8,000 visitors to Guernsey.
‘Strong partnerships with Carnival UK and other major cruise operators are key to Guernsey’s success as a cruise destination. Over the past 12 months, we have strengthened our relationship with Carnival, rejoined the Cruise Europe network, attended numerous influential trade events, and held face-to-face discussions with global cruise operators,' said Mark Renouf, Cruise Guernsey operations and business development manager.
‘Our priority is to attract more cruise lines of all sizes, bring more visitors to Guernsey, and increase the economic benefit to local businesses.'
As of this month, 51 cruise calls have already been scheduled for the year ahead and these are expected to bring up to 50,000 visitors to the island, a number which is likely to increase as cruise itineraries for the year are finalised.
P&O Cruises, Silversea, and Ambassador – the three operators who brought the most visitors to Guernsey last year – feature prominently in this year’s advance schedule.
The news of new cruise operators would be welcome to local businesses who rely heavily on trade from cruise passengers. Andy Furniss from Le Petit Train said that over the past few years, there has been a fall in the number of cruise passengers riding his train.
‘Last year was down on 2023, 2023 was down on ‘22, it’s been a downward trend,’ he said.
‘What we need is more visits from big ships and to provide the best experience we can so they come back.’
In addition to AIDAsol, Carnival’s Princess Cruises is set to return to Guernsey in 2027 for the first time since 2023.
Princess Cruises has historically been a significant repeat visitor, and its luxury 3,660-capacity liner Sky Princess is scheduled to call into St Peter Port next year.
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