The 2026 cruise and visiting vessels’ season starts today with the arrival later this evening of tallships Pellew and Spirit of Falmouth as part of the Full Circle Expedition.
The voyage is coordinated by veteran sailing charity Turn to Starboard and delivered in partnership with Invictus Games Birmingham 2027.
Crewed by a rotating team of 70 wounded, injured and sick (WIS) veterans and serving personnel, Full Circle sets sail from Falmouth today (17 March) and will travel anticlockwise around the UK, stopping at 22 ports in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, before returning to Falmouth on 11 June 2026.
The voyage will carry the Invictus Games Flag around the UK, building momentum towards the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 one-year-to-go event at the NEC in July 2026.
The crew is expected to be alongside on the Barbican Landing Stage for four days. There, the Invictus Flag will be handed over to the City of Plymouth and raised to honour the crew, local veterans and all of those competing at the Invictus Games.
Next month, Plymouth will welcome the first cruise ship of the new season. The Seabourn Ovation will anchor in the Sound on 29th April with guests tendered into the heart of the city via the Barbican Landing Stage ready for a day of sightseeing and shopping.
Throughout the summer a wide range of cruise lines will either return to Plymouth, or enjoy their first port visit to the city, including Evrima from the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Aurora from P&O Cruises.
A warm Plymouth welcome always awaits guests as they arrive with the Plymouth Cruise Ambassadors ready to provide smiles, directions and snippets of local knowledge that cruise guests hugely enjoy. The Ambassadors spend the winter season brushing up on the city’s, and local area’s newest experiences; in February they enjoyed a private visit to Port Eliot Estate followed by a Sunday Roast in The Eliot Arms!
To view the 2026 cruise and visiting vessel schedule please click here.
Cattewater Harbour will be attending Seatrade Miami next month along with Destination Plymouth to showcase Plymouth to the global cruise market.
