Funchal: 11 Cruise Ships for New Year’s Eve Celebration – Cruise Industry News

Funchal will have 11 ships in port to ring in 2025 as guests will have the best seat in the house to the port city’s fireworks display.

The lineup includes ships from nine different companies: AIDA Cruises, Cunard Line, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Marella Cruises, Phoenix Reisen, P&O Cruises, Saga Cruises and TUI Cruises.

Set to watch the local fireworks display at midnight on Jan. 1, 2025, the vessels started to arrive at the Portuguese town on Madeira Island on Dec. 30, 2024.

Over 18,500 guests are expected to visit Funchal as part of the celebrations, in addition to nearly 8,000 crew members.

The largest ship on the scene is the new Queen Anne, which entered service for Cunard Line earlier this year.

Offering a 14-night cruise to the Canary Islands, the 3,000-guest ship arrived in Funchal on the morning of Dec. 31.

Two TUI Cruises ships are also set to spend New Year’s Eve in Madeira: the Mein Schiff 5 and the Mein Schiff 7.

Serving the German market, the vessels bring nearly 6,000 guests to the celebration as part of their itineraries in the Atlantic.

Hapag-Lloyd is also joining the celebration with the Europa, while Phoenix Reisen is present with the Amera.

The AIDAblu is another ship joining the gathering as part of a seven-night cruise to Spain and Portugal that departed from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Saga Cruises’ entire fleet, which includes the Spirit of Adventure and the Spirit of Discovery, is there as well.

P&O Cruises and Marella Cruises will also bring guests to the fireworks display with the Aurora and the Marella Explorer, respectively.

Another traditional spot for cruise ships on the last day of the year, Copacabana is hosting six vessels today.

Over 19,500 passengers will be at the Brazilian beach to welcome 2025, in addition to roughly 7,500 crew members.

Photo Credit: Sergio Ferreira