Aarhus enters busiest cruise week of the year: Over 16,000 guests visits the City of Smiles

When the cruise ships Mein Schiff 1 and VISTA dock in Aarhus on Monday 14 July, it marks the start of a very special cruise week in Aarhus.

With five cruise ports and a total of 16,298 guests spread over just four days, it will be the busiest cruise week of the year at the port of Aarhus. Here, the Port of Aarhus cooperates with VisitAarhus to give tourists the best possible arrival to the City of Smiles.

“It will be a very special week, and this is a result of the fact that shipping and cruise companies increasingly prioritize Aarhus as an attractive tourist destination, and that we provide a very good service as a port and destination in cooperation with VisitAarhus. Cruise guests create value for the city's cultural institutions, shops and attractions, and it is therefore also gratifying that this year we are helping to bring a record number of cruise guests to the city,” says Thomas Haber Borch, CEO of the Port of Aarhus.

More onshore power and guests than ever

2024 was a record year when the Port of Aarhus welcomed 193,000 cruise guests, but the expectation is that over 200,000 cruise guests across 62 calls will have visited Aarhus by the end of 2025.

The 16,298 cruise guests in week 29 will be primarily from Germany and the United States. This is the second highest number of cruise guests in a week in Aarhus — second only to a historic week 21 in 2024 with approximately 18,000 cruise guests.

It's not just records for the number of guests that are being beaten. The expectation for 2025 is that approximately 80 percent of cruise ships calling at the port's cruise dock will use the onshore power system. That's a record number, because in 2024 the figure was 68 percent.

“We see a great willingness among shipping companies to use onshore power whenever possible. This is really positive, because when the ships can turn off the diesel generators and instead supply themselves with electricity, it gives both the guests and the Aarhus residents a better experience,” says Thomas Haber Borch.

The Port of Aarhus last year also introduced a green tax, which makes it more expensive for cruise ships to not use the onshore power system. This means an additional charge of up to DKK 80,000 for cruise ships that call at the cruise dock and do not connect to the onsshore power system.

The five cruise arriving in week 29 also mark the midpoint of the cruise season measured by number of ships. During this year's season, approximately 86,000 visitors have visited Aarhus in 110 nationalities, 70 percent of which have been from Germany.

Below is an overview of when the five cruise ships will arrive during week 29:

· Monday, July 14: Mein Schiff 1 (2,894 cruise guests)

· Monday, July 14: VISTA (1,469 cruise guests)

· Wednesday, July 16: Aidamar (2,686 cruise guests)

· Thursday, July 17: CARNIVAL MIRACLE (2,649 cruise guests)

· Friday, July 18: Aidanova (6,600 cruise guests)

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