Small cruise ships in the Baltic Sea Region: Conditions of functioning with particular regard to Szczecin Port

Abstract

The cruise ship market is steadily growing but dominated by large “mass-tourism all inclusive” ships, only able to stop in large ports offering necessary conditions and infrastructure but only marginally profiting from passengers themselves, because operators organise all activities and money is spent mostly on ships. This focus on the large cruise ships opens niche markets/touristic segments for smaller ships/ports and more individual travelling and tourists for whom targeted products have to be developed. First contacts to SCS operators show that a small market exists but that also small ships usually only stop at large ports (National Geographic Expeditions/NGE) or struggle to develop marketable products (e.g. former Hurtigruten ship Nordstjernen). The goal of this article is to show the current situation of small cruise ships (SCS) in the Baltic Sea Region with a particular focus and example of Szczecin Port.