Gibraltar (UK)

Gibraltar is an UK cruise port and a British Overseas Territory on the Iberian Peninsula, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Gibraltar is connected to mainland Spain (north) and close to Morocco (south, across Gibraltar Strait).

A British territory since 1704, Gibraltar is a popular tourism travel destination famous for its pubs, tax-free shops (on Main Street) and the Irish Town. A cable car provides scenic views of North Africa's coast. Popular tourist attractions include Tarik's Rock, St Michael's Cave, Siege Tunnels, the Barbary macaques (Europe's only wild monkeys).

The Rock of Gibraltar and its counterpart in Northern Africa (Mt Abyla) were known in ancient times as "Pillars of Hercules". In 711 AD, the Moors (Arabs from North Africa) landed there and named the rock "Jebel al-Tarik". Spain conquered Gibraltar in 1462, but in 1704 (during Spanish Succession War / 1701-1714) it was taken by the British. In 1713, under the Treaty of Utrecht, this territory was officially assigned to Great Britain. Since then, territory ownership has been a matter for discussion (political tensions) between the UK and Spain.

In 2017, Gibraltar Port (locode GIGIB) handled a total of 257 cruise ship calls and 400,000+ passengers. These numbers showed an increase over 2016, when the cruise port was visited 225 times and by ~350,000 tourists.

On May 4, 2016, was officially opened the "Mid Harbour Marina". This is an outer jetty / wharf with over 500 m (1640 ft) of boat berthing space, minimum charted depth 6 m (20 ft) and fuelling points, making it perfect for super yachts. The new marina is inside the harbour (with sheltered location) and offers medium and long-term yacht berthing. Pre-booking is also available.

In July 2016 Gorham’s Cave complex was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Shore excursions are planned to showcase the newest attraction. The cave is named after Captain A Gorham, who discovered it in 1907.

Gorham Cave is considered one of Neanderthals' last habitations of in Europe. The Europeans have up to 2,5% of their DNA.

In 2018, the cruise port had scheduled 254 ship calls (booked berthings) with estimated 400,000+ passengers. In 2017, ship calls were 235. In 2013, the port received 179 ship calls and 278,139 cruise tourists. Port Gibraltar is included in Western Mediterranean and Canaries cruise itineraries, as well as in many Transatlantic repositioning crossings between Europe and Florida. In 2019 were handled 203 cruise ship calls and ~300,000 passengers.

In early-March 2021, HM Government of Gibraltar granted Royal Dutch Shell plc an LNG bunkering (ship fuelling) license. This made Shell an exclusive provider of LNG (liquified natural gas) for fuelling marine vessels (including cruisers) docked at Port Gibraltar.

Port's cruising season runs the whole year round. Most regularly scheduled visits are from TUI Cruises (Germany) and Marella Cruises (UK) ships.

Gibraltar cruise terminal