New Cruise Terminal for Southampton

Not only are there more cruises and more cruisers going out of Southampton these days but also the ships are getting bigger. Earlier on this year the worlds largest cruise ship the Oasis of the Seas docked there for a night and may just be a trial for things to come.

Currently there are 4 cruise terminal, 2 built in the 60s, both recently refurbished, 1 in 2003 and refurbished in 2007 and the other built in 2009.

In 2005 there was 738,000 passengers going through Southampton, 2012 saw 1.2 million passengers, last year there was 1.7 million and it is still growing.

As a result of all this there is to be another cruise terminal added to Southampton, Berth 104.

I’m not too sure what the impact will be on the good people of Southampton but I am sure it must help the local economy and is nothing like the issues Residents around airports have with the prospect of new runways.

Never the less there must be a time when there are just too many ships and passengers going through Southampton, could this mean more business for the likes of Portsmouth and Dover? Dover would certainly need a new road system if this was the case and as for Portsmouth, well I’ve never sailed from there so not sure what upgrades would be needed.

Getting a detailed plan of this terminal is proving to be difficult though. All I can tell you at the moment is that it will be based at the Western Docks and will be used for the larger ships.

As soon as more info comes through I will update this blog to share with you.

Perhaps you know a bit more than me. If so please share.