The Port of Tyne is expecting another robust cruise season with 32 cruise calls in 2013, 11 of which are transit and 21 are turnaround cruises.

Three new cruise lines will be making transit calls including, Crystal Cruises, Hurtigruten and Costa Cruises.  And a number of first time calls will be made by existing customers including the inaugural visit of Fred Olsen’s Black Watch and MSC Magnifica.

MSC Lirica at the Port of Tyne

Steven Harrison, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Tyne, said: “The Port of Tyne operates an award winning International Passenger Terminal.  Last year over 660k passengers embarked on cruise and ferry holidays with more destinations on offer than ever before including cruises to the Western Mediterranean, Scandinavia and the Baltics”.

With superb facilities, vessels of up to 300m in length and up to 10m in draft can be accommodated at Northumbrian Quay, the Port’s purpose built cruise berth which is capable of accommodating 95% of the global fleet of cruise ships and ideally placed to handle turnarounds and transit calls.

The Port of Tyne

With world heritage sites, miles of stunning coastline, dramatic castles and cathedrals, sumptuous stately homes and gardens, plus one of Europe’s most culturally exciting cities, there’s something for everyone and a wide variety of visitor attractions within one hour from port you’ll be spoilt for choice at the Port of Tyne – named the UK’s Best Port of Call by cruisecritic.com.

For the avid traveller, North East England is steeped in history and home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites – named as an up-and-coming destination by the compilers of the Lonely Planet guides, North East England is one of only 30 places around the world to make it into the ‘Go List’ section – a chapter dedicated to detailing new destinations.

Angel of the North

For the city explorer, the twin city of Newcastle Gateshead has been named ‘New Capital of Britain’ by The Times, and is home to world-class restaurants, nightlife, shopping, art galleries, theatres and an international music centre.

The steady growth of the UK cruise market is making a tremendous economic contribution, and a recent study found that cruise and ferry operations at the Port of Tyne add c£50m gross value added to the economy of North East England and indirectly supports in excess of 1,700 tourism related jobs.

With Newcastle International Airport and Newcastle Central Rail Station just 20 minutes away from port and world-class attractions within 1 hour’s transit time the Port of Tyne is looking to increase cruise calls and already has over 30 vessels provisionally booked for 2014.

For more information please visit www.portoftyne.co.uk