A cruise ship provided an economic boost after pulling into Portland for an extended stay due to poor weather conditions elsewhere.
The Norwegian Dawn arrived early with 2,360 guests on board when strong winds made her previous planned call untenable.
She docked at the port’s new £26m deep water berth the evening before her scheduled day-long visit.
A flood of passengers poured into the local area, especially Weymouth town centre, during the evening in an unexpected fillip for shops, restaurants and bars before a planned day of excursions and trips.
Norwegian Dawn visited Portland
The Norwegian Dawn, operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, is a regular visitor to the port. A busy schedule of calls will continue as usual over a record-breaking season for the port when ships carrying more than 130,000 passengers will visit – an increase of 23% on last year.
Bill Reeves, chief executive of Portland Port, said: “The Norwegian Dawn is always a very welcome visitor to the port.
“One of the secrets of success in the growth of our cruise business is to be as accommodating and flexible as we can be for our customers.
“Praise must go to our staff and suppliers for their quick response to make arrangement for the Norwegian Dawn’s arrival and shuttle bus transport for its passengers.
“On the evening of arrival about half of the ship’s passengers headed off to Weymouth to enjoy the pubs and restaurants or sample the local fish and chips, and their arrival would have provided an unexpected economic boost for many catering, hospitality and related businesses in the area.”
Bill added: “By all accounts the guests had a great time and enjoyed their evening out.
“We are grateful to local businesses for providing a warm welcome and great service for the passengers, as they always do.
“We look forward to many more cruise calls during the second part of the season in a record breaking year for the port.”
Cruise calls at the port are estimated to make a contribution of about £10m to the local economy.
This is based on statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association trade body for spend per head of passenger. The figure includes expenditure in shops, bars, cafes along with transport and tours.
In addition, further expenditure comes from the crew that are given time off when in port along with revenues through the port itself.
Typically, about 50% of visiting cruise guests go on organised excursions, the majority of which stay in Dorset. Most of the remaining passengers explore the local area using the port’s complimentary shuttle bus service, either choosing to stay on Portland or travel into Weymouth.
In April, Portland Port welcomed the MSC Virtuosa with a record 5,000 passengers, the greatest number of guests on any single vessel visiting the port so far. It was also the first cruise call at the port’s newly developed deep-water berth.
Portland Port employs 53 people and has a number of tenants, including cargo businesses, which provide jobs for more than 250 people.