In August, the Port of Lisbon enjoyed its best month ever for cruise activity, reaching all-time highs in passenger numbers for both transit and turnaround passengers. The same applies to port calls.

Last month, 86,322 cruise passengers disembarked in Lisbon, up 23 per cent from August 2025. This figure is also higher than the same month in 2024. The number of port calls at the Port of Lisbon also reached record levels, up 32 per cent from the same period last year.

Turnaround operations

Turnaround operations are those in which one group of passengers ends a voyage whilst another group prepares to board the cruise ship and continue their journey.

The increase in these operations is attributed to the growth in embarkations and disembarkations. Figures reported by Publituris indicate that, in August 2026, 12,090 passengers embarked in Lisbon, whilst 12,543 disembarked at the same port.

Transit passengers also rose to a new high in August, reaching 61,689.

There were nine turnaround calls in August, the highest figure since 2009, when eight calls were recorded. As a result, turnaround calls now account for 28.5 per cent of monthly passenger traffic, compared with the 16.2 per cent recorded in August 2025.