#CruiseBELFAST – Opening the cruiseship season to Belfast Harbour today is the small ultra-luxury Hebridean Princess, now serving her 25th year of operations, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The former west Scottish isles car-ferry Columba currently operated by Hebridean Island Cruises, is the first of 60 cruise callers to bring 100,000 visitors to the city port during 2013.
Belfast Harbour can also look forward later this month in officially marking its 400th anniversary when the port's first quay was established by a Royal Charter in 1613.
On a related royal note, Hebridean Princess was chartered by Queen Elizabeth II for a family holiday cruise around the Scottish isles to mark her 80th birthday in 2006.
The ship is berthed in Pollock Dock (see basin on left of aerial view) which is situated closer to the city-centre compared to the Stormont Wharf facility which caters for considerably larger cruiseships.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, 2013 is set to become another breaking season, in contrast to last year's season when 44 cruiseships called carrying 75,000 passengers.
Among the cruise operators to call they include Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Celebrity, MSC, Thomson, Fred Olsen Cruise Line and Saga Cruises. For details of calls click the LINER-LIST.
