Cruises continue to rise in Barcelona and 2026 is already surpassing the record levels reached last year, in a year also marked by an international situation that has strengthened the weight of the Mediterranean – and the Catalan capital – within the programming of the major cruise lines. This is evidenced by the figures closed for the month of July: between January and July, the Port of Barcelona recorded 3.23 million passenger movements, 5.3% more than in the same period of 2025. Of these, 2.3 million corresponded to cruise passengers, 7.3% more, while 929,540 were ferry users.
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July has contributed especially to this advance. During the month, 86 cruises called at Barcelona and generated 529,546 passenger movements, 16.9% more than in July 2025. These calls were made by a total of 37 ships, most of which call weekly. Among them are some of the main novelties of this season, such as the Legend of the Seas, the brand new megaship from Royal Caribbean with a total capacity for 7,600 passengers; the Mein Schiff Flow from TUI Cruises; the Celebrity Xcel, in its first European season, and the Douglas Mawson from Aurora Expeditions. The renewal will continue at the end of the year with the MSC World Asia (6,762 passengers) , the new large cruise ship from MSC Cruises, which will begin its Mediterranean program in the winter of 2026 and will have Barcelona among its embarkation ports.
Between August and December, about 450 calls are planned, 4.4% more, which could exceed 4 million cruise passengers
Of the 2.3 million cruise passenger movements recorded until July, only 1.33 million are estimated to have visited the city of Barcelona, a figure that represents an increase of 5.1% compared to the previous one. This is due to the new calculation system established since April 2025 by the Port and Turisme de Barcelona, a methodology that both institutions consider to be closer to reality.
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Between January and July, base port passenger movements – embarkations and disembarkations – grew by 11.6%, up to 1.37 million, while transit movements advanced barely 1.5%, up to 929,012. The latter currently represent around 40% of cruise traffic, slightly below the 42% they represent annually. These figures are heading towards the path set by the Barcelona City Council in its strategy to minimize the weight of one-day cruises and instead strengthen base port operations.
The programming for the rest of the year also points to continued growth. Between August and December, about 450 calls are planned, 4.4% more than those made in the same period of 2025. If these operations maintain a passenger volume similar to last year (and what has been recorded so far this year), Barcelona could close the 2026 fiscal year around 4.2 million cruise passenger movements, approximately 6% above the record reached in 2025.
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