UK: 2023 set to match pre-pandemic cruise levels for SCH and subsidiaries
SCH and its sister companies will handle around 130 cruise ship transfer calls in 2023 as the industry continues its post-pandemic recovery.
SCH and subsidiary Southern Maritime Services (SMS) will build on its 2022 cruise ship activity at Southampton, Liverpool and Portsmouth.
Royal Caribbean International (RCCL), Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Voyages will again form the backbone of the company’s cruise business in Southampton, operating a full programme of holidays primarily to the Mediterranean. RCI’s Anthem of the Seas will be the most frequent caller, with the ship being based in Southampton for her fourth successive season.
Fred Olsen Line and Saga Cruises will both be important contributors to business in Liverpool and Portsmouth.
Some 80 turnaround and day calling cruise ships are expected in Portsmouth in 2023, with Saga’s Spirit of Discovery and sister ship Spirit of Adventure together making nearly 30 turnaround calls. In addition, regular Portsmouth callers such as Noble Caledonia and Oceania Cruises will also use the port for passenger turnaround operations.
While SCH and SMS will provide their established baggage handling, stores loading and mooring services, another sister company, Cruise and Passenger Services (CPS), will provide valet parking services in Southampton, Liverpool and Portsmouth, plus Dover. In total, more than 350 ships will be supported by CPS during the year.
SCH Cruise Operations Manager Louis Colpitts explained: “2023 will take us back towards pre-pandemic volumes of cruise business, thanks to the expansion in the number of UK callers and the continued growth of CPS activity in Dover.”
