Viking Saturn Cruise Ship visits Portsmouth

The News, Portsmouth

Viking Saturn cruise ship visited Portsmouth International Port on Thursday, April 11, 2024.

Transcript

00:00So, as a memorandum of our first and many port calls in your beautiful city of Portmouth,

00:21I would like to present you with our plaque.

00:23Thank you very much, Captain, and likewise, whenever we always get an awful call, we always

00:29give them a Portsmouth International Port, so you can put that in the bridge and every

00:33time you can come and visit.

00:34Perfect.

00:35Thank you very much.

00:36Thank you.

00:37Thank you very much.

00:38Thank you.

00:39Thank you.

00:40Fabulous, thank you.

00:41You've just done the plaque handover with the captain of Viking Saturn.

00:42Give us your thoughts on ship's first ever visit to Portsmouth.

00:56I mean, it's a fantastic ship, and you'll see that just walking around here, and it

01:00really fits the model and the business that we're trying to attract to Portsmouth, which

01:05is the boutique cruising, the high-end boutique expedition, and the transit calls, the tourist

01:12calls.

01:13So, this is bringing passengers into the city, going into the city to spend money, which

01:20generates an awful lot of money for the area, for the council.

01:25Just one of these ships can generate up to one and a half million, so the more we can

01:29attract this type of business, the more attractive that is to the city, so we're really proud

01:35to see the ship here today.

01:38We've got exponential growth of cruise ships coming into the ports, and it just seems to

01:43go from strength to strength.

01:45What does it look like inside the ship, just from the little wander around we've done before

01:50the plaque handover?

01:51So, I think what's really nice about this ship is it's very much got that Scandinavian

01:57feel around it, but very modern as well, so these are new ships, they'll have that capability

02:03of plugging in for shore power, so they don't have to run their engines, so when we're in

02:09the position to provide that next year, they'll be able to do that, which is great from an

02:13air quality perspective for the city, and really fits that sustainability model that

02:18we're looking to attract here, but it's very exclusive, it doesn't feel cramped or busy

02:26because of that exclusivity, you know, 900 passengers, there's almost one crew member

02:33to two passengers, so it doesn't have that feel, and there isn't many people on here

02:39as we go around today, because they're in the city, spending the money.

02:42And it must be nice to do the plaque exchange with the captain, because at a historic moment

02:47like that, with more ships making their first come to the ports in the near future, that

02:50must mean a really big coup for the port in the future.

02:53It is, yeah, and every time we do this, and the plaque exchange, which we always do when

02:58it's an inaugural call, you know, it's a proud moment, and we're really proud of the types

03:07of ships that we're attracting here, and really putting Portsmouth on the map for that high-end

03:13cruise call.

03:14In the future, this season, this year, what is set out to be the busiest port in terms

03:22of cruise calls, do you see this just growing in the future as the port tries to seek out

03:28more small and medium-sized cruise calls like this one?

03:32I mean, as we go to each year, we break a record when it comes to the number of calls,

03:39or even the size of some of the ships that we're actually getting into Portsmouth.

03:43So this year will be our busiest ever year.

03:45Next year, we'll beat that, and it'll be busier next year.

03:49Our business model, what we're looking to attract will move us to, you know, 150 to

03:54200 cruise calls of this size.

03:57And this has been, from day one, this has been the type of business that we've been

04:01looking to attract.

04:02And I think the more we provide the welcome for these ships, which we do in conjunction

04:09with shipping Portsmouth for their passengers, the more attractive Portsmouth becomes for

04:16those ships as well.

04:17And as long as we've got the infrastructure, we've got that welcome, the passengers go

04:22away happy, the ship's happy, and they'll come again.

04:25And finally, why is it more prioritising small and medium-sized cruise calls for this business?

04:32We wanted a unique selling point for Portsmouth, you know, given the close proximity that we

04:37are to Southampton.

04:39Southampton is the mass market, you know, the family market, the huge cruise ships that

04:43can take 5,000 passengers.

04:45We want it to be bespoke.

04:46We wanted that exclusivity, high-end.

04:49And everything we've put in infrastructure-wise shows that.

04:52Our new terminal, for example, which, you know, is fully sustainable.

04:57It's got everything that the passengers that pay, you know, thousands of pounds for their

05:01cruises expect when they come to Portsmouth.

05:04And that has been, you know, from day one, the type of business that we've been looking

05:09to attract.

05:11So, Vanessa, what is it like to be, to welcome the guests from Viking Saturn and to have

05:16a wander around the ship this morning?

05:18Every time I come to the port to welcome people like the ones from this ship, I get a buzz.

05:24I love what I'm doing.

05:25I'm here for every single ship, from before the ship arrives until 4 o'clock this afternoon.

05:31And I just think we have the most incredible city that we can show everyone, yeah?

05:38Everything from shopping to eating to historic dockyard, everything that you could possibly

05:43wish for, we have here.

05:46And so it is a great pleasure and a great honour to be part of it.

05:50And what made you decide to volunteer with the Ship in Portsmouth and to welcome these

05:54guests?

05:55Well, I've been an ambassador for the last eight or nine years, but when this programme

05:59was introduced two years ago, I thought, that's it, that's mine.

06:03And I've literally only missed two ships in two years.

06:07So I really do love it.

06:09And you have a travel background yourself, so it's this voluntary role to welcome people

06:13to the city.

06:14That's right.

06:15I also have the advantage that I speak several languages.

06:17I was born in India and I speak several Indian languages, which is very useful for the crew.

06:23They get such a kick that somebody says hello to them in one of their languages.

06:27And I speak fluent German because I lived in Germany for quite a while.

06:31But I also worked for Thomson Holidays on a cruise ship.

06:35So this is really my part of the world, if you like.

06:39And then I worked in a travel agency in Bournemouth.

06:41So I've done a lot of travel and I can talk to a lot of people about a lot of things.

06:46So it's great.

06:48And what's it like to help guests when they come off the ship and just make them feel

06:52welcome to the city and also give them recommendations on where they can go?

06:55What is that feeling like?

06:56Well, I think it's a great opportunity for us to show that we are actually very friendly,

07:02that we love having people here.

07:04And if you can use a little bit of humour with giving them the information, it's not

07:07just saying go to the historic dockyard or do this or do that.

07:10Show an interest in who they are, where they come from, what they are doing on this cruise,

07:16where they've been, what ports they like.

07:19It's very important.

07:21And finally, you said that the charity needs more volunteers to welcome.

07:26We would love to have a lot more volunteers, purely because we are getting busier and busier.

07:32And sometimes we have maybe 2,000 passengers getting off at one time and four or five people.

07:38I have been here where I've been the only one here, but it's OK.

07:42I manage.

07:43However, the more the merrier.

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