Porto’s record turnaround run has a modest TUI follow-up

TUI Cruises has six turnaround calls scheduled at Porto in 2027, following an 11-call Mein Schiff 6 program in 2026. That is a modest follow-up to the terminal’s biggest turnaround series yet. I’d put more weight on growing that repeat business than on the headline passenger count.

Porto Cruise Terminal handled the 11 consecutive calls by the 2,700-passenger ship at Portugal’s Port of Leixoes between July 2 and September 10, 2026. According to the port, the program generated 54,351 passenger movements, with more than 10,000 crew members also passing through the terminal.

There was other turnaround business, too. Leixoes handled nine additional operations, bringing its 2026 total to 20, up 67 percent from 2025. Passenger volume associated with turnarounds more than doubled, the port said.

Those are substantial gains. Joao Pedro Neves, president of the Port Authority of Leixoes, said the growth “demonstrates the growing confidence of cruise lines in the Port of Leixoes.” He also said it strengthened the port’s standing as a homeport on Europe’s Atlantic coast.

An 11-call deployment gives that argument substance. It is a sustained commitment to embarking and disembarking passengers, rather than an occasional cruise starting or finishing at the port. The smaller TUI schedule for 2027 is nevertheless a reason to distinguish a successful program from an expanding long-term commitment.

Inside the Mein Schiff 6 series

Weekly charter flights from German cities brought most guests to Porto. Most passengers were German. The port described Germany as its most important source market.

That air connection deserves as much attention as the terminal figures. It is the practical arrangement behind the passenger total.

The tally comprised 24,387 embarkations, 24,334 disembarkations and 5,630 transit passengers. According to the port, passengers visited Porto and northern Portugal before boarding or after completing their cruises.

Capasiar Unipessoal provided port agency and husbandry services for Mein Schiff 6. Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services acted as ground agent, overseeing passenger travel arrangements and shoreside logistics throughout the series.

The ship operated Atlantic Coast itineraries during the deployment. Spanish calls included Bilbao, La Coruna, Vigo and Cadiz. The routes also visited Le Verdon-sur-Mer in France, Gibraltar, Tangier in Morocco and Lisbon.

A growing business beyond the TUI series

Leixoes started from a much smaller homeport base. Six cruises began or ended there in 2024. Its wider cruise traffic that year reached 152 calls and 195,877 passengers, compared with 116 calls and 148,893 passengers in 2023. Calls rose 31 percent and passenger traffic approximately 32 percent.

That broader business had a different passenger mix. British passengers accounted for 34 percent of overall cruise traffic in 2024, followed by Americans at 24 percent and Germans at 23 percent. Those full-year figures should not be confused with the predominantly German TUI deployment.

Leixoes has put an 11-call homeport program on its record. The more persuasive milestone will be putting one back on its calendar.