104 ships and the goal of reaching 35/40 thousand cruise passengers. These are the forecasts for 2026 for Portoferraio.
The data released by the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority highlight a further growth for the Island of Elba in the sector compared to 2025, a year during which more than satisfactory results were achieved, both for port of call bookings and for the number of cruise passengers.
The year that is about to close has in fact totaled 85 calls and about 21 thousand cruise passengers in transit. 2026 therefore forecasts 20 more landings. The data is still being consolidated, with possible increases.
All the main cruise companies are confirmed compared to this year, with an offering that ranges from the luxury segment to the mass market. Among the main novelties of the year are the landings of the mega Yacht VidantaWorld’s Elegant (by Vidanta World) and the Four Season I, the first superyacht by Four Season, which will officially enter service in March.
Also planned are the first-time calls of the Nautica, by the company Oceania Cruises, which for the first time calls at Portoferraio, and those of the Evrima, the brand new yacht of the ultra-luxury company Ritz-Carton, thus strengthening its presence at the Elban port of call, which was already visited in 2025 with the ship Luminara.
The company Ponant, a world leader in luxury cruises, has also decided to increase the number of calls, going from 8 in 2025 to the 18 scheduled in 2026.
Also worth noting are the new landings of the Island Princess (by the company Island Spirit), those of the Silver Shadow (Silversea Cruises), and the OE Corinthian, the largest sailing yacht in the world, which will set sail in June 2026.
Other novelties are represented by the first-time landings of the MS Hamburg (by MS Plantours & Partners Hamburg) and the Douglas Mawson, by Aurora Expedition.
“The data confirms the strong interest of cruise companies in the Elban port,” declares the President of the AdSP, Davide Gariglio. “All the premises are there to surpass the already excellent numbers achieved by the market in the current year,” he adds, not without claiming a small part of the credit for this result.
“We like to believe that today the port is more efficient, safe, and attractive also thanks to the work carried out on the Deep Water Quay,” he states, emphasizing how the strategic interventions completed last year have completely redesigned the traffic layout, creating a filter lane for buses destined for cruise ship passengers and allocating the parking lots of the Residenze to cars waiting for ferries.
The next objective will be the ecological transformation of the port, thanks to the electrification of cold ironing: “In Portoferraio, as well as in Piombino, the work will be completed by March 2026: in both ports, all the excavation paths for the laying of cable ducts and cables have essentially been completed, and the work for the construction of the conversion cabins is about to be completed. Once the works are completed, we will be able to significantly reduce polluting emissions, also reducing noise pollution.”
