Belfast Harbour, which has welcomed 145 cruise calls this year, has been hailed by tourism chiefs, reports the Irish News.
According to Cruise Belfast, a partnership between Belfast Harbour and Visit Belfast, the harbour saw 60 cruise ships from 35 operators berth in the port for this year’s seven month season. This led to 260,000 passengers and crew calls to Northern Ireland between April and October.
In May, Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Dawn visited Belfast, and on board was the two millionth cruise ship passenger to visit the city which welcomed its first caller in 1996.
Among this season’s cruise callers, six had made their maiden calls to Belfast, including Cunard’s Italian built newbuild Queen Anne, which arrived in the Northern Ireland capital in June as part of its British Isles Festival Voyage. In the same month, Queen Anne was officially named in Liverpool, the spiritual home of the company, where the ceremony took place in front of the old Cunard building.
The largest caller at Belfast this season was the MSC Cruises 333-metre MSC Preziosa featuring an ‘infinity’ pool, which arrived in September, and the final call was the Oceania’s 670 double occupancy Sirena on Monday.
Belfast facilitated six cruise turnarounds during the year with UK operator Ambassador Cruise Line. These cruises by the two-ship operator provided local people with the opportunity to embark directly from Belfast to destinations including the Norwegian Fjords, Iceland, the Mediterranean, and the Scottish Islands.
More here on the conclusion of the cruise season story.
