2025 Cruise season ahoy!

Orkney’s cruise season is underway – and there’s been some fantastic spring weather to welcome our cruise visitors to our shores already.

The smooth running of Orkney’s cruise industry is seen as a beacon of success by other UK ports who strive to reach the high standards set in the county, with Kirkwall often named ‘top of the stops’ in northern Europe by cruise liner passengers.

Two new cruise lines are visiting Orkney for the first time in the 2025 cruise season, as the county holds its place as the top port of call in the UK.

Virgin vessel Scarlet Lady will call into Hatson, Kirkwall on 22 August.

The county will also welcome a RitzCarlton luxury superyacht into Kirkwall – the Ilma on 30 August.

Vessels will also call into our beautiful outer isles including Westray, Papay and North Ronaldsay, bringing benefits to communities outside the larger ports at Kirkwall and Stromness.

Here’s the 2025 season in numbers:

• 178 calls
• Around 170,000 passengers
• Two new lines calling – Virgin and Ritz Carlton
• Nine vessels calling for the first time.
• Record number of calls booked for North Ronaldsay

The first caller arrived today, Tuesday 1 April, in the shape of the brand new VIKING VELA - not only the first ship of the season but this vessel’s first call into Orkney.

Last year (2024) was a record year with 223 callers and although there are less visitors this year Orkney remains the busiest transit port call in the UK.

Whilst it’s difficult to quantify the exact value of cruise to Orkney it is estimated as being between £12-15 million annually – vital as we look to maintain a strong economic picture for our islands.

A vital contributor to the Orkney economy, the sector employs many seasonal staff. Substantial further benefits to the local economy flow from the many extra hands required to support busy piers, service shore excursions to Orkney’s tourism gems, and handle the extra footfall of passengers and crews in local retail businesses, charity stores and cafes.

The services that support cruise on the piers – ‘meet and greet’, shuttle buses and security – will be employing over 65 dedicated and skilled local people this summer alone.

Anecdotally the shopping experience in Orkney is unique, rivalling some of the best known High Streets in Scotland – and this is a draw for passengers and crew who want to buy that something special.

Although only half of visitors enter Orkney via a cruise ship, the sector provides a tangible, secure income for businesses on a day by day, predictable basis.

The ongoing success of the cruise industry in the county is testament to the local community and a determination to offer a warm Orkney welcome to visitors at every turn.

It also reflects a huge amount of work year round behind the scenes - before, during and after the season.

Paul Olvhoj is Business Development Manager with the Council’s Harbours team and says the coming cruise season, as always, has been months in the planning, working with cruise and shore excursion companies to make every call a smooth one – including during the Island Games which is being hosted by Orkney for the first time this year.

“We have a well-oiled machine involving several teams within the Council working together alongside a slick ‘meet and greet’ and shoreside team, to ensure operations run smoothly for cruise companies and passengers – so in that way it’s very much business as usual.

“We’ve kept our cruise industry fully informed of the logistical aspects of the Island Games, particularly around the larger events such as the cycling criterium which will see roads closed as spectators and athletes are out on our roads.

“That way, we could ensure liners could time their bookings to best suit their passenger experience.

“We’re now a couple of years into our booking policy which is having an effect and seeing a more even spread of passenger numbers across the season and a better experience for visitors, and also the wider Orkney community.

“The larger liners calling into Orkney make up a small percentage of the overall numbers and we work very hard to ensure we support the overarching aim for everyone visiting Orkney - from cruise passengers to independent travellers - to enjoy a first-class experience while here.”

Last year (2024) was a record year for Orkney’s cruise industry, with 223 callers. Although there are less visitors this year Orkney remains the busiest transit port call in the UK, despite the challenges of an extremely competitive field.

There are a few factors that are unique to 2025 but which are not a lasting concern. Firstly as mentioned above fewer vessels have chosen to call during the week of the Island Games. Secondly, the multi location calling vessels Hebridean Princess and Lord of the Highlands are not in Orkney - cruise operators do rotate what they offer to passengers to keep things fresh for repeat customers.

Wider market challenges include a redeployment of some lines to the returning Baltic market, and a small decline forecast for Scotland as the highs of numbers of vessels in our waters drops.

The market is still very robust and Orkney remains a prime location for lines covering the round UK, Arctic and North Atlantic routes. Numbers for 2026 look to be a small increase on 2025.

Key to ongoing success for the county is ensuring the sector in Orkney is sustainable – both in terms of its impact on the local community, and on the environment.

The Harbours Authority is participating in the Environmental Port Index, a global reporting standard aimed at increasing the operational efficiency of ship owners and port operators while reducing their environmental impact.

The EPI considers factors such as carbon dioxide emissions from cruise ships while in port and is used to calculate environmentally differentiated port fees based on a ship's emissions. This dataset will eventually be linked to the harbours charges for cruise ships.

Paul says both the bookings policy in Orkney and their plans to link harbour dues to EPI ratings are evidence of the continuing work being done to balance the growth in the cruise market, increase income for harbours and the Council and ensure that community interests are not degraded: “One ensures a strong management of the numbers of vessels and visitors and the other sets a marker for knowledge of the environmental effect of visiting liners. It’s all about offering a quality experience and leaving people wanting to come back for more.”

Chair of the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Kristopher Leask, said: “Orkney has a great reputation within the international cruise industry and rightly so, with local businesses and the community working to give as warm and unique a welcome as possible to each and every visitor, and make the most of the opportunities cruise activity offers. 

“We’re delighted to cruise passengers, and share some of the magic of Orkney with them.”

You can view the cruise visits scheduled for 2025 on the Orkney Harbours website www.orkneyharbours.com/sectors/cruise-ship  

For more about the EPI is available at https://epiport.org/

Image of Viking Vela taken by Ship2Shore Orkney.