IT’S going to be a record-breaker! For the first time in decades Southampton will witness six cruise ships, including some of the most famous vessels in the world, alongside the port in just one day.

On Wednesday, January 5, in excess of 360,000 gross tonnage of passenger shipping will be berthed in the docks, a sight not seen in Southampton for at least 50 years.

Next year is expected to be the busiest ever for cruise ships as more companies bring their ships to the port with at least one million passengers due to cross the city’s quaysides.

Until recently the winter months were quieter than the busy summer season but as cruising has increased in popularity more ships are staying in the UK to cope with the ever growing demand for voyages to and from Southampton.

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Not only will it be a hectic day for all the port services but it will also be a testing time for the city’s road network and transport systems as 19,000 people will be arriving and departing from the ships, all within a matter of hours.

In port will be P&O Cruises’ Arcadia at the Ocean Terminal, Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth at 38/9 berth, both in the Eastern Docks. The City Cruise Terminal will handle Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s Black Watch, and the Cunarder, Queen Victoria will use the Mayflower Terminal, both in the Western Docks.

Also in port will be Saga Cruises’ Saga Ruby and Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s Balmoral, however berths for these two vessels have yet to be finalised. All ships are due early in the morning and will sail again later the same day, but exact timings are not known at present.

The coming 12 months will also see the arrival of MSC Cruises, with one of the fastest growing and most modern fleets, which has turned its back on other UK ports to concentrate its ex-UK voyages in Southampton.

The 59,000 ton MSC Opera, able to accommodate up to 2,200 passengers, will be undertaking cruises to Scandinavia as well as some of the traditional port-of-call in France and Spain.

April, 2011 will also see the much anticipated arrival of the ultra luxurious, Seabourn Sojourn, one of the new ships to join the Yachts of Seabourn fleet of vessels. Seabourn Sojourn’s maiden call to Southampton will be an opportunity for the line to assess the potential for the five-star operation in Southampton.