NEXT year is gearing up to be a busy 12 months in terms of cruise ship visits with 27 confirmed calls equating to 19,958 passengers with a number of ships yet to confirm their calls.

German operated ships are leading the field as Round Britain cruises with Falmouth on the itinerary are becoming increasingly popular.

A&P Falmouth Port Operations director Mike Reynolds said: “The German cruise market is a very important part of our business which is reflected in the large number of ships bringing German passengers here next year.”

AIDA cruises who cater for young Germans have yet to confirm their calls but this year Falmouth will see the AIDAaura four times during the season.

Novels written by Rosamond Pilcher, who was born in Lelant, have acted as a catalyst for German passengers wishing to visit Cornwall on a cruise. They have fallen in love with the county after watching the German TV station ZDF which has produced 70 of her stories for TV, becoming the most popular programmes according to viewing figures.

People wishing to cruise from Falmouth can join the Ocean Countess here in January and February 2011 when the ship will embark on two 29-night Caribbean cruises making calls at the Azores, Antigua, St Maarten, St Barts, Tortola, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenadines, Barbados and Madeira.

These are followed in March by two further cruises. The first, on March 5, is a 13-night “Canary Islands and Madeira cruise” calling at Vigo, Lisbon, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Gomera, Funchal and Oporto. The ship is making seven calls at Falmouth.

Princess Cruises will only be making two calls with the Grand Princess and Emerald Princess using Falmouth on trans-Atlantic re-positioning cruises in preparation for the busy European cruise season. The ships, if fully booked, have the potential to bring nearly 6,000 passengers to the port next May when they arrive within two weeks of each other.

The world’s first purpose built “floating community” at sea The World arrives on May 30 for a prestigious two-day visit. The ship leaves Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city and capital of Tierra del Fuego, on January 1 travelling up the western seaboard of South America, transiting the Panama Canal from where she cruises the West Indies and eastern coast of the USA before crossing the Atlantic. The 43,000-ton The World has 110 luxury flats and 80 apartments which can be rented at £3,200 per day.

Cruise ships have tight schedules to keep often requiring high speed runs to maintain precise arrival times. Not so in the case of The World which has a more leisurely schedule often with two-and-a-half days in any one port. Hence the ship has a service speed of 17 knots. Other ships confirmed for 2011 are the Silver Cloud, Minerva, Spirit of Adventure, Saga Ruby, Discovery, Delphin Voyager, Albatros, Princess Daphne, Artania (ex Artemis, ex Royal Princess) and Hebridean Princess.