More than one cruise ship can dock in the beautiful Norwegian port of Ålesund.
Norway’s status as one of the world’s most attractive cruise destinations continues with the release of record-breaking visitor figures.
During the 2023 cruising season, there were a total of 3,943 cruise calls at Norwegian ports, up almost 500 on the previous year. Passenger numbers too have soared, with more than 6.1 million passenger visits recorded during 2023.
A passenger visit is counted per port, so one cruise passenger will be counted several times over a cruise itinerary with multiple port calls in Norway. Even so, that’s an increase of almost 1.9 million over the previous year.
Such a notable rise surprised officials at the Norwegian Coastal Administration. Arve Dimmen, director of navigation technology and maritime services, says the increase in passenger visits was “significantly greater” than they’d expected.
Larger Cruise Ships Visiting Norway
One major contributor to the sharp increase in passenger visits compared to port calls is the introduction of ever larger cruise ships.
The megaships of lines such as Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises—capable of holding more than 5,000 passengers—can often be seen in Norwegian ports during the summer.
This trend of bigger ships visiting Norway looks set to continue with several new cruise ships in 2024 continuing to set passenger capacity records.
Longer Cruise Season In Norway
The record-breaking cruise season is also partly explained by the increase in winter itineraries, and cruises in the shoulder seasons either side of the main summer season.
Northern lights cruises are growing in popularity, with northern ports such as Tromsø, Alta, and Narvik proving popular with British and German cruise lines between September and March.
Winter northern lights cruises have become popular over the last few years in Norway.
The increase in off-season cruising is a natural development from the popularity of Norway as a cruise destination, explains Harald Borgø, senior adviser at the Norwegian Coastal Administration: “Part of the background to this development is limitations in the number of calls per port per day in the summer. When traffic increases, it must be spread over several days of the year.”
Bergen, Ålesund Lead The Way
Both Bergen and Ålesund laid claim to be the busiest cruise port in 2023. Bergen, Norway’s second biggest city, welcomed 358 cruise ships, significantly more than any other port.
However, its coastal rival Ålesund welcomed more than 650,000 cruise passengers, more than any other port. This is explained by Ålesund having welcomed bigger ships, on average.
The cruise port in Bergen is capable of hosting three or sometimes four cruise ships at once, so smaller ships find it easier to secure a berth there during the busy summer season.
Bergen port officials say they expect fewer ships but more passengers in 2024. “That means many large ships are coming to Bergen with room for more passengers,” said Frode Sagmo, cruise coordinator at the Port of Bergen.
Back in 2016, only four Norwegian destinations were visited by more than 200,000 cruise passengers, but that number has jumped to 10 ports in 2023. Stavanger, Geiranger, and Flåm were other popular choices.
Norway Cruise Record Expected In 2024
In the 2024 season, the Norwegian Coastal Administration estimates an increase of 4% in the number of cruise calls over 2023, and an increase of 6% in the number of cruise passenger visits.
If the estimate holds true, 2024 will be the first year that cruise ships make more than 4,000 port calls in Norway.
This could be explained in part by the upcoming law change from the Norwegian government. In just a few years’ time, only zero-emission vessels will be permitted to sail in the parts of the west Norwegian fjords protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This change will mean that travelers who have always wanted to visit iconic Norwegian fjord destinations including Geiranger and Flåm on a cruise ship will have to bring forward their plans to 2024 or 2025.
Other environmental changes are on their way that will have less of an impact on passengers. In 2024, the Port of Bergen wants half of all cruise ships to connect to its green shore power facilities so they can shut down their diesel engines. By 2026, port bosses expect all ships to be using shore power while in port.