The number of arrivals increases by 20 per cent and in 2011 67 different cruise ships are expected to call at Copenhagen. This will set a record for CMP and for cruise traffic in the Danish capital. The number of arrivals is 368 and passenger numbers will reach 770,000, which is 16 per cent more than in 2010.

“Copenhagen has never been included in so many cruise routes before,” Arnt Møller Pedersen, the head of CMP’s cruise traffic operations, says. We can thus look forward to 368 arrivals by 67 different cruise ships. About half of these are turnaround calls, where passengers either begin or terminate their cruise in Copenhagen.

Between April and October some 770,000 passengers and 200,000 crew members from 115 countries are expected to visit Copenhagen. A total of 37 international cruise operators sail to the Danish capital. CMP estimates that 25 per cent of passengers come from Germany, 19 per cent from the US and Canada, 14 per cent from the UK and 10 per cent from each of Italy and Spain.

“The Baltic Sea is a profitable region for cruise operators, as distances between ports such as Oslo, Stockholm, St Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki are relatively short,” Arnt Møller Pedersen notes. All these ports can also be reached on a one-week cruise from Copenhagen.

Copenhagen’s popularity is hard to ignore. Last year the city was voted “Best Destination Experience” in the ECC Port Survey, where cruise passengers are asked to rank different destinations. Copenhagen scores highly on account of the proximity of the cruise ship terminals to the heart of the city and the wide range of attractions and events on offer.

For CMP another source of encouragement is that the 2011 cruise season will be extended compared with previous years. The first ships arrived already on 4 April and the last cruise in the autumn is scheduled for 14 October. As in previous years, there will also be a handful of “Christmas cruises” to Copenhagen in December. The largest cruise ship in the 2011 season is Celebrity Eclipse, which is 317 metres long. The largest in terms of passenger numbers is the 3,194-bed Emerald Princess.

“The most hectic day in 2011 will be 4 June, when six ships will call at Copenhagen – five turnaround calls and one transit call. On that day 23,000 passengers will pass through our terminals,” Arnt Møller Pedersen says.

CMP now offers cruise information by e-mail and SMS, giving customers and partners advance arrivals information, which makes it easier to plan services for ships and passengers during the cruise season. The largest investment for the future is the new cruise quay that is currently being built, which CMP will take into use in spring 2013.

“The quay will be 1,100 metres long and will enable flexible terminals and supply facilities for our passenger services”, Arnt Møller Pedersen says. The solutions for car, coach and taxi traffic in the harbour area will also become more efficient.