Porto Cruise Terminal at the Port of Leixões handled 11 consecutive turnaround operations for TUI Cruises’ the Mein Schiff 6 between July 2 and Sept. 10, the largest turnaround program the terminal has ever managed, according to the port.

João Pedro Neves, president of the Port Authority of Leixões, said the growth “demonstrates the growing confidence of cruise lines in the Port of Leixões and reinforces the port’s position as a reference homeport on the European Atlantic coast.”

The calls brought 54,351 passengers and more than 10,000 crew members through the terminal, including 24,387 embarkations, 24,334 disembarkations and 5,630 transit passengers, most of them German, the port’s most important source market.

Capasiar Unipessoal handled the ship’s port agency and husbandry services, while Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services managed passenger travel and logistics on the ground.

During its 11 weeks homeporting at Porto, the ship sailed Atlantic Coast itineraries calling at Bilbao, Le Verdon-sur-Mer, La Coruña, Vigo, Gibraltar, Tangier, Cadiz and Lisbon.

Most passengers arrived on weekly charter flights from German cities to visit Porto and northern Portugal before or after their cruise, the port said.

The Mein Schiff 6 calls were part of 20 total turnaround operations at Leixões in 2026, up 67 percent from the previous year, with passenger volume more than doubling over the same period.

TUI Cruises is scheduled to operate six turnaround calls at Porto in 2027.