Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#Inquiry - An investigation has been initiated by Bermuda, writes Irish Times, into how a “mega-class” cruise ship with almost 4,500 people on board spent nine hours drifting without power in the Irish Sea As reported on Afloat earlier this month,…

#Ferry2Cruise – A cruiseship with an unconventional background called into Dublin Port this morning, Ocean Majesty, which in another guise was a car ferry built fifty years ago to serve Spanish island services, writes Jehan Ashmore. The veteran vessel, an…

#CruiseLiners - A power failure on board a large cruise liner rendered the vessel adrift in the Irish Sea for nine hours earlier this week, as The Irish Times reports. The "technical glitch" on the Caribbean Princess cut power to…

#CruiseTallShip – Standing out more than most, German premium brand, Sea Cloud Cruises ultra-luxury ‘windjammer’ Sea Cloud II, overnighted in Dublin Port as part of turnaround cruise, writes Jehan Ashmore. The Hamburg based five-star operator of the modern yet majestic…

#CruiseRosslare – Afloat in April reported on the planned visit of the first cruiseship to Rosslare in twenty years, this took place at the Co. Wexford ferryport this morning, writes Jehan Ashmore. Rosslare Europort welcomed Fred Olsen Lines MS Braemar…

#Cruise&FerryCode - It was at the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) recently held in Dublin, that the Code of Good Practices for Cruise and Ferry Ports was launched. The code which is available (here to download) has been developed by ESPO…

#CruiseWaterford - Noble Caledonia, an operator in the high-end small ship cruise market whose latest addition, Hebridean Sky yesterday called to Dun Laoghaire Harbour, having sailed from the quays of Waterford City, writes Jehan Ashmore. This was the 4,200 tonnes…

#LuxuryMarket - Noble Caledonia's headquarters in London is close to the Irish Embassy in exclusive Belgravia, and the connection with this operator and our country was made when their newest cruiseship addition called for the first time to Dun Laoghaire…

Spanish Armada, French Armada, English forces, Vikings, the Lusitania. West Cork towns have had their share of maritime history over the years but this coming week will see history in the making when new visitors, this time invited ones, will…

#CruiseEuropeConference - In the same week of the Cruise Europe Conference held in Dublin for the first time, another first took place in the port as piles were sunk for the €227m Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) project enabling much larger…

#CruiseEurope2016 – Cruise Europe’s 2016 conference takes place for the first time in the Irish capital this week (31 May- 2 June). The prestigious three-day conference is to attract over 200 delegates from leading cruise destinations to the event co-hosted…

Dublin Port today became the first – and only – Irish port of call for Disney Magic on her maiden voyage to Irish shores. The ship’s 3,650 passengers, cast and crew were greeted by an entertainment spectacle on the quayside…

#DisneyDublin - Disney Magic is to be one of the highlights of Dublin Port's cruise season and as the first Irish port to welcome Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of the famous Walt Disney Company, writes Jehan Ashmore. As previously…

#WorldsLargest - Harmony of the Seas, the world's largest cruiseship and the 25th vessel in the Royal Caribbean fleet has sailed to the UK. The £783m vessel, which arrived into Southampton yesterday as reported by BBC News, also has footage…

#CruiseLiners - Galway welcomed its first cruise liner call of 2016 last weekend in the shape of the 'luxury mega-yacht' L'Austral, as the Connacht Tribune reports. Though the vessel only stopped for a day, its 400 passengers and crew made…

#4calls3days - Donegal Now writes that four cruiseships in three days are to visit Killybegs making for a busy weekend. On Saturday, May 14, two ships will be in port together. The MS L'Austral is due to arrive at 7am…