#HALcall – Holland America Line’s Prinsendam berthed in Belfast Harbour this morning as part of a 28 Day Celtic & Bourgundian Explorer Cruise, writes Jehan Ashmore.
This was the second call of HAL's Prinsendam to Belfast this season as she called in July. Overall, this morning's call was her 14th visit to the port having berthed at the Stormont cruise wharf. She has a capacity for more than 766 passengers and 460 crew.
Prinsendam at under 40,000 gross tonnage is the smallest of the HAL fleet which now has a newcomer, Koningdam, just shy of 100,000 gross tonnage. She was named in May as the first of the 'Pinnacle' class, the largest ever built for the US based operator, part of the Carnival Corporation. The newbuild can take a maximum of 3,200 passengers and over 1,000 crew.
Today’s call of Prinsendam represents the 29 caller and last of this month alone to Belfast. Asides, HAL, among the cruise operators they include Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, Silversea, Majestic, and Fred Olsen.
The port is to host almost 145,000 cruise visitors this season as the harbour is the principle gateway to the attractions of city and Northern Ireland.
Prinsendam had set off from Dublin, where she overnighted at Ocean Pier, within Alexandra Basin, where another fleetmate, Rotterdam had called earlier this month.
