“We are at a turning point where we must either stop marketing our destination or invest in a new quay to meet the demand,” said Maria Kühnl, cruise coordinator at the Trondheim Cruise Network Mid-Norway.

“We hope to increase calls during off-season, which means that more cruise lines seeing the perks of calling during the winter. We are also hoping to spread calls around our region more so that we can avoid getting overcrowded in one place,” she said.

This year Trondheim expects 88 calls and 160,000 guests, while 2020 traffic continues the growth pattern with 100 calls expected.

Pullmantur uses Trondheim as a turn port, and there are now 17 off-season calls scheduled for 2019-2020, up from 11 last season.

“We have locals in traditional costume that welcome the guests at every call in the morning and hand out free maps of the city,” Kühnl said. “Maiden calls are greeted with local musicians playing for an hour at berth and we distribute free local chocolates to the guests. We try to have music at berth for at least 30 percent of all calls, but definitely on a first call.”

Located in the heart of Norway, Kühnl noted that Trondheim was well positioned as a turnaround port with vessels being able to easily put itineraries together going north or south.

“We can accommodate thousands of visitors and have proven that we can handle big turnaround operations,” she added. “We have a ski jump where they even jump in summertime, the northernmost tram in the world, the first bicycle lift in the world, and the Nidaros cathedral.”

Nearby Froya, an island along the coast of Trondelag, is a new call opportunity for expedition vessels and has been gaining in popularity.

Among the challenges is ongoing environmental pushback in Norway.

“We would like to at least make sure that we can offer predictable conditions and prices for the next year.”