GREENOCK Ocean Terminal is looking forward to another record year for cruise ship visits that will give a ‘substantial’ boost to the local economy.

More vessels than ever will call at the port, with Queen Elizabeth making a return visit on June 30 and the magical world of Disney making a first appearance during the same month.

A total of 59 ship visits will take place at the terminal, three more than last year, bringing with them 101,550 passengers.

Numbers are slightly down from 108,000 in 2015 because the smaller Caribbean Princess is replacing sister ship Royal Princess.
Just 20,253 passengers passed through the port in 2007, but this rocketed to 92,678 in 2014.

Greenock set a new record in 2015 as the first Scottish port to welcome more than 100,000 passengers in one year.

This year the terminal will play host to several new arrivals, such as the Zuiderdam and Aida Vista.

Andrew Hemphill, former terminal manager and now port director of Clydeport, said one of the highlights will be the inaugural call of the Disney cruise line’s Disney Magic coming in on June 11 from Kirkwall with 3,325 passengers.

He said: “Passengers have the option of starting a cruise in Greenock on Fred Olsen’s Boudicca, the Marco Polo, the Saga Pearl 2 or the luxurious Hebridean Princess.

“This year will also see another first when Greenock plays host to the Grand Prix of the Seas in June, with the Caribbean Princess providing the backdrop to the exiting event.”

Mr Hemphill said the warm welcome given to passengers by local people was helping to make the terminal increasingly popular.

He believes spending by passengers will boost the Scottish economy by £10 million this year, with a ‘substantial’ portion of that going to Inverclyde shops, restaurants, taxis and other services.

Mr Hemphill said: “As well as passengers, we have 30,000 crew coming in on the ships and spending time in Inverclyde.

“One of the terminal’s attractions is that it’s so easy to walk from it into Greenock. The town has really been put on the map by the cruise ships.

“It’s been a huge team effort by the terminal to increase the number of ships. Passengers may be a bit apprehensive going into Greenock on what may be their first visit to Scotland, but they soon see the town for what it truly is — a warm, welcoming place with fantastic scenery.”

Meanwhile the terminal has appointed a new manager, Craig Collins, who has many years of experience there, and is looking forward to the busy year ahead.

Plans to expand cruise ship facilities at the terminal have been passed as part of the £1 billion Glasgow and Clyde Valley City Deal scheme funded jointly by the UK and Scottish governments.

More than £14 million will be used for an expansion of the quayside and construction of a state-of-the-art visitor facility.

When she visited the terminal late last year First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the expansion would ‘cement Greenock’s position as one of Europe’s leading cruise liner terminals’.

For the full 2016 cruise call timetable click here.