Cruise destination of the year

I am really proud to say I live in the cruise destination of the year. Where is this fantastic place? Scotland

Scotland was named “Destination of the Year” at the prestigious Seatrade Cruise Insider Awards 2012 in Marseille, France

The award is given on a number of factors including a region, tourism body or association which has made significant strides in promoting cruise tourism. This will include the promotion of the three ports within the Edinburgh area. You may be a little confused if you see a cruise itinerary stopping in Edinburgh then notice some might say Leith, South Queensferry or Rosyth. What is the difference?

Leith is a 5 minute taxi from the centre of Edinburgh including Princes Street and Edinburgh castle. South Queensferry is Just under the Forth Road Bridge and approximately 10 miles from Edinburgh centre. When your ship arrives in South Queensferry is a lovely small town with a few shops and restaurants and it is easy to get into Edinburgh using a taxi, local bus or cruise shuttle. Finally Rosyth this is a little more misleading as it is around 19 miles from Edinburgh for this port you will in fact cruise under the Forth bridge before you arrive at the cruise terminal.

Cruise Scotland set new records in 2012, with 436 cruise calls, delivering 379,955 passengers to Scotland, an increase of 14% and 19% respectively on 2011, and generating an estimated £41.2 million to the Scottish economy.

This is fantastic news for the local people of Scotland and such a boost to the economy in hard times.

As well as the usual day visits into Edinburgh in more recent years smaller ships have been in Edinburgh overnight letting passengers have the chance to visit the famous Edinburgh Tattoo.

Looking forward to 2013 we have lots of visits into Edinburgh from various cruise lines including Fred Olsen, Cruise & Maritime, Windstar Cruises, Silversea and Regent seven Seas.