How has Gibraltar come out of nowhere to break cruise ship records – and unnerve the Spanish competition?

Louise Brown June 4, 2025 Travel Leave a comment

GIBRALTAR is celebrating a record-breaking April in terms of cruise ship visits, which has given its Spanish neighbors a boost.

The Olive Press reported that the Rock had a record of 41 passenger liners stop over in the month, which was a 41% rise on the same period last year.

Meanwhile, over in cruise ship favourite Cadiz, a total of 47 vessels birthed – still greater than Gibraltar’s figure but down from the 61 that were scheduled.

Gibraltar’s cruise call numbers are expected to increase by 28% in 2025 compared to 2024. It still has a long way to go before it can compete with Cadiz, which is expected to receive 324 cruise calls.

READ MORE Cruise ship calls to Gibraltar soar by nearly 75%: Passengers have already spent £4m this year

However, this figure has been revised down from a staggering 396, marking a declining – but not unwelcome – trend for the city.

Accordingly, one of the most notable differences between Gibraltar and Cadiz is in the respective attitudes towards the passenger behemoths – something that has not gone unnoticed by the operators.

When you are looking for a way to improve your life, gibralteños Welcome the cruise ships with their thousands of tourists, for the most part. gaditanos complain that the town is selling its ‘neighbourhoods, businesses and its soul’ to the cruise ships and the enormous footfall.

Almost 11,000 passengers, mostly from the US, Canada and the UK, arrived in Cadiz on three different cruise ships on May 8 – a tenth of the city’s entire population.

The group led 2,000 locals in a march, which was the catalyst for a flurry of protests. Cadiz Resiste.

READ MORE Cádiz government says its town will not be overrun by cruise ship tourists yet residents are concerned

*The Norwegian Star cruise ship arrived in Casablanca on April 14, before departing.*

Spokesperson Marta Pérez Martín, who lives across from the port where the cruises dock, told the Olive Press: “We’re living here, studying, working, taking care of our daughters, trying to sleep and rest, and the cruise ships bring so much noise, noise at late hours.”

“The people of Cadiz are unable to shop comfortably, attend work or bars in comfort, or even walk comfortably on the streets.”

Gibraltar is immune from the outbreaks of Tourismophobia Cadiz is not immune to the same problems that plague Spain.

Gibraltar’s tourism minister, Christian Santos told the Olive Press it was because ‘Gibraltarians ‘understand how important tourism is for the local economy.’

READ MORE Cruise ship with 5,500 passengers docks in historic Spanish city

We’re a close-knit community, and we are all dependent on each other for economic and business reasons.

The community is happy to see local businesses flourish thanks to cruise ship passengers.

Gibraltar has made great efforts to be successful in the cruise industry.

A series of upgrades to its port facilities and capacities, strategic deals with leading cruise liners – including the luxury Explora Journeys – and beefed up excursions and activities on the Rock have paved the way for the success.

It is important to note that the word “you” means “you”. *MS Arvia* (Photo: Flickr) (Photo: Flickr)

Attractions like St Michael’s Cave, World War Two tunnels and Gibraltar’s iconic monkeys all add a distinctive lustre as a destination for cruise ships.

The minister pointed out that Gibraltar has consistently scored ‘eights and nines out of ten’ in recent passenger feedback surveys.

The tourist board also assured that it was not resting on its laurels but working on ‘fresh products and new initiatives’.

The Liquid Natural Gas Terminal is one of Gibraltar’s key competitive advantages for cruise ships that stop over.

READ MORE One day, 13,000 cruise ship passengers descended on a small city in southern Spain.

With this, cruise ships can refuel more quickly and efficiently than in competitor ports – also enjoying Gibraltar’s low-tax discount, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

But ultimately what might attract the ships and their cosmopolitan customers is simply the uniqueness of Gibraltar and its massive rock, its monkeys, its history – and its bizarre but charming fusion of cultures and languages.

Santos continued, “We attract the right ships, those that are interested in culture, quality excursions and Gibraltar’s unique character.”