Portland Port in south Dorset, England celebrated a record-breaking double-call day when the Regal Princess and the Norwegian Getaway docked at the port on the same day.

The two ships arrived carrying over 7,250 passengers, with many disembarking on shore excursions such as visiting attractions on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Regal Princess and the Norwegian Getaway were moored up at the port on Saturday as part of a 25-day voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a 16-day voyage to northern Europe respectively.

Ian McQuade, Portland Port’s commercial general manager and chair of Cruise Britain, said: “The double-call broke a port record; the newly developed deep-water berth is a testament to the unwavering belief port management had that the facility would attract international passenger ships vessels of up to 350m in length.

“The redevelopment project provided 16,000 sq m of additional quayside space, with 11.7m of water depth, 380,000 tons of locally sourced infill material and 4,800 tons of steel.”

McQuade added: “Various records have been set this year with the cruise calls at Portland, including the annual number of passengers at 130,000.

“Saturday’s double calls also saw a record number of guests using the port’s complimentary shuttle bus to Portland Castle and on into Weymouth.

“Over 4,000 passengers took advantage of the service, no doubt delivering a welcome financial boost at the end of the summer season.

“There was another new record when 18 cruise calls arrived between the tail end of August and the end of September, with an estimated £3.6 million generated in the local economy.”

Portland Port expects a total of 57 cruise calls for this year. In addition, for the first time at the port, cruise calls are scheduled for 10 out of 12 calendar months, excluding only January and March.