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Robbie Williams sponsored the christening of the Mein Schiff Relax with a concert. SUR Malaga Port 2025 saw Malaga's highest cruise ship figures in 15 yearsThere was a 21 per cent increase in passenger arrivals to over 570,000, 40 per cent of them on luxury ships
PILAR MARTÍNEZ
MALAGA.
Friday, 20 March 2026, 11:17
The port of Malaga started 2026 with the bar set very high in the cruise sector. 2025 was "a good year" in the words of the president of the Costa del Sol city's port authority, Carlos Rubio. In fact last year was the best in the last 15 in terms of the number of cruise ships sailing into Malaga. At the same time the city is achieving its goal of attracting more smaller ships, carrying passengers with higher spending power.
The numbers speak for themselves. The year ended with 570,481 passengers and 331 cruise visits, representing increases of 21.3 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.
These figures confirm Malaga's position as one of the main cruise destinations in the Mediterranean. However figures are a long way from what is considered an "invasion" as is happening in places such as Venice.
Growth until last year had been very slow since the last record was set 15 years ago, in 2010. During that year, 322 ships arrived at the port with 659,138 tourists travelling on them.
The latest data shows that now more ships are berthing, but of a smaller size. Hence, even with more cruises, the 2010 passenger milestone has not been reached.
City centre berth
In 2025, 40 per cent of the passengers arrived on premium or luxury cruise ships. In Malaga smaller ships can dock at the Palmeral terminal, just metres from the city centre.
219,665
is the number of passengers who arrived in Malaga on board 'premium' category ships, a segment in which the city has taken its place on the world cruise map.
This is something that few ports in the world can offer and which the most exclusive shipping companies value highly. However, this type of ship has a small passenger capacity: the smaller the number of passengers, the more select the voyage.
Data from the Malaga port authority indicates that 215 of the cruise ships that docked last year are within this 'premium' segment. Almost 220,000 passengers travelled on them, with the months of November and June being the busiest, with 34,513 and 32,392 passengers, respectively.
The port explained that its central strategy has been to "grow in luxury cruises as these are more sustainable and generate greater income in the destination because the passenger has greater purchasing power".
Increasing the number of cruises that use Malaga as a base port, starting and finishing in the city, is another of the port's aims.
The biggest cruise company using Malaga port is by far MSC followed by Costa Cruceros.
The highlight of 2025 in the port was the concert by Robbie Williams to mark the maiden voyage of the Tui ship Mein Schiff Relax.
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The Four Seasons Yacht in Malaga port. Ñito SalasHigh season kicks off with an expected 172,000 passengers on board 117 cruise ships
The port of Malaga now faces the spring high season with a forecast of 172,000 passengers on board 117 ships which will dock between 15 March and 29 June. Twenty of these are base port calls. The figures are very similar to those of the same period last year, when there were 121 calls and 181,207 passengers, according to data from the Malaga port authority. The season opened with the exclusive call of the Four Seasons Yacht, which is making its inaugural voyage and chose Malaga for its christening ceremony. The ship, with a maximum capacity for 190 passengers, was docked at the central Palmeral terminal from last Friday until Tuesday 17 March, offering cruise passengers a unique experience just five minutes from the centre of Malaga. Another 66 ships belonging to premium cruise companies are expected to arrive at the port of Malaga between the months of March and June, representing more than 50% of the total number of calls, continuing the upward trend of this type of cruise. For the first time this year the port is expecting Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, this being the first European port the ship will call at on its maiden voyage. The busiest days, with a maximum of four cruises, will be 13 April, 2 May, 5 May and 26 June.