Cruises and Cruise Liner Visits to Ireland

Fears liners may not return to Irish ports before 2022. AFLOAT adds above the distinctive twin funnelled Disney Magic paying homage to the 'Golden' era of cruiseliners. The operator, Disney Cruise Lines is according to Cork Beo to call to Dublin and Cork but not until September 2022.

Passports for Vaccine & Covid-19 Tests to Help Battered Cruise Sector Bounce Back

6th April 2021 Cruise Liners

Passports for vaccination and precautionary Covid-19 tests have emerged as keys to help kick-start the recovery of the crippled €70m Irish cruise ship industry. As Independent.ie writes, the revelation came as Irish ports admitted they do not expect the resumption…

P&O Cruises’ Britannia will run a series of short breaks from Southampton for vaccinated UK guests this summer

Cruise Line Wants Double-Dose Vaccinated Guests Only for Summer Voyages from UK

18th March 2021 Cruise Liners

P&O Cruises says British passengers on two of its cruise liners this summer will need be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before joining any voyage. According to Marine Industry News, it is the cruise line’s “strong expressed preference” that British guests…

Cruise ships in future visiting the Port of Holyhead will use a jetty upgraded that will make it 'more attractive' to passengers. In addition the £500K investment will also help Orthios get the jetty (above with cruiseship Silver Wind) also ready to receive recycled plastics. AFLOAT adds the jetty leads off the north Wales's ferryport at Salt Island located in the centre of the outer harbour. Afloat tracked today the new UK polar research vessel Sir David Attenborough berthed at the jetty.

Cruise Ship Jetty at Holyhead Undergoes Upgrade Will Make it 'More Attractive' for Passengers

24th February 2021 Cruise Liners

Cruiseships that had used the deep water jetty at the Port of Holyhead, NorthWalesLive reports, is now receiving an upgrade that will make it more attractive for passengers and prepare it for a new use. Work has begun on the…

"We expect to be heading to 150 cruise liner visits per year in the late 2020s when the two Cobh terminals are open," said Port of Cork chairman, John Mullins. Above AFLOAT adds is Cobh where a Celebrity Cruises 'Solstice' classship is seen from a Maersk containership 'banana boat' that departed from nearby Ringaskiddy, where the Deepwater Berth, the PoC plan to use less for large cruiseships due to increased freight demand. This will concentrate cruise operations already existing at Cobh and a add a new 'interim' mini-cruise berth upriver at Marino Point.

Second Cruise Ship Terminal Port of Cork Plans for Cobh

17th February 2021 Cruise Liners

A second cruise ship terminal the Port of Cork hopes to be operational in Cobh by the end of the decade which will see up to 150 such ships visiting the town every year. In the interim it's planned to…

Cruiseships of Collapsed CMV that Served Irish Cruisegoers 'Directly' - Head to the Shipbreakers

14th February 2021 Cruise Liners

Three cruiseships, two of which served Irish holidaymakers on non-fly 'direct' cruises out of Dublin and Cork in the last decade, have this winter departed UK waters but to head to the shipbreakers, writes Jehan Ashmore. All these developments originate…

The coronavirus pandemic has largely shut down the cruise industry. Above Afloat adds is a 'Quantum'-class cruise ship of operator Royal Caribbean International (RCI).

Singapore 'Cruise to Nowhere' Ends after Passenger Tests Positive for Covid-19

9th December 2020 Cruise Liners

A cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean has returned to Singapore on day three of a four-day "cruise to nowhere" after a passenger tested positive for Covid-19. BBC News reports, the Asian city state's "cruises to nowhere" - starting and…

Cruises by P&O were abandoned in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Above AFLOAT's photo of the operator's 'adults' only Arcadia in Dublin Bay during an 'anchorage' call off Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The Vista class cruiseship is currently among a quartet of cruiseships in UK waters offshore of Teignmouth, Devon having previously been at anchor off Weymouth this summer.

Cruise Operator P&O Cancels Sailings Up to April 2021

25th November 2020 Cruise Liners

Operator P&O Cruises will not resume cruise sailings until at least April next year. The company ended its cruises in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic and has not resumed any of its voyages since. The Southampton-based firm, which is…

Balance sheet has been strained at the TUI Group due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Afloat adds in July, the first large cruiseship to operate after the initial Covid-19 lock-down was subsidiary, TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 2 with a restricted 1,200 passenger capacity while on a non-landing cruise off Norway. Above is leadship Mein Schiff 1 seen several years ago when on an anchorage call in Dublin Bay from where passengers were tendered ashore to Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Travel Giant TUI Reduces Winter Capacity, Continues to Evaluate Funding Options

22nd September 2020 Cruise Liners

TUI the world's largest holiday company (including cruiseships) said that it had reduced capacity for the coming winter season due to changing travel restrictions, and it continued to evaluate options to boost its balance sheet which has been strained by…

Secondhand tonnage: Borealis and Bolette form a pair cruiseships acquired by Fred. Olsen Cruises. Bolette is to make an Irish debut in March 2021, which is to include a call to the Port of Cork followed by a visit to Belfast Harbour.

Former Irish Serving Cruiseships Delivered to Scotland to Began New Career for UK Operator

19th September 2020 Cruise Liners

Cruiseships Rotterdam along with Amsterdam both acquired from Holland America Lines to the ownership of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines have together met up in Scotland following a delivery voyage from Cyprus, writes Jehan Ashmore. The pair custom built for HAL…

Med-Cruise: MSC Grandiosa's stringent Covid-19 guidelines were breached by a family on a shore excursion (Italy), which led to them being denied re-entry to the cruiseship. Afloat adds the leadship of the 'Meraviglia' class called to the Irish capital in recent years.

Med-Cruise from Italy Denies a Family Re-Embarkation after Breaking Cruiseship's 'Social Bubble'

24th August 2020 Cruise Liners

It is just over a week ago when MSC Grandiosa set sail from Genoa, Italy - with only citizens of Europe's Schengen-area countries and below its 70% capacity limit - it became the first cruiseship in MSC's fleet to return…

The above 'FILE' photo taken earlier this year in the UK during Covid-19's first lock-down, despicts the impact on the cruise industry in Ireland too from the pandemic and since. In the foreground, Vasco da Gama arrived on 5 May to lay-up in Tilbury Dock, London after a repositioning voyage from Cape Town, South Africa (but due twice to Dun Laoghaire this summer) however the ship's operator CMV since collapsed into administration. Also already laid-up amongst mostly cruiseships, Saga Sapphaire (behind Vasco da Gama) notably the only cruiseship to call to Irish ports this season in March (was sold by Saga Cruises recently). It's successor, Spirit of Adventure (top right) built last year then made its maiden cruise to Ireland (remains in situ) opposite laid-up Astoria an Irish caller. In immediate foreground is also laid-up (non Covid related) P&O Ferries reserve freightferry European Seaway which in recent years covered Larne-Cairnryan crossings.

Cancelled Cruiseships for Dun Laoghaire Include 'List' of Detained CMV Ship But Not Irish Serving Fleetmate

21st August 2020 Cruise Liners

On this date next month a cruiseship due to call to Dun Laoghaire Harbour however remains on the harbour's website list of callers despite the collapse of the ship's cruise-operator CMV, writes Jehan Ashmore Noting in addition the Government's ban…

Saga Sapphire in a previous livery scheme of recent years while on a visit to Killybegs, Co. Donegal, became this season to be the only cruiseship to visit both Dublin Port and the Port of Cork during calls in March. This was the veteran vessel's farewell cruise in Irish waters as UK operator Saga Cruises have since disposed the 1981 built cruiseship. AFLOAT also adds tug SMS Cian of Sinbad Marine assists while in the background are 'Med'-mooring superstrawlers with stern's at right angles to the quayside of Ireland's premier fishing facility.

Cruise Sector Fears Will Take Years to Recover from Covid-19 Crisis

17th August 2020 Cruise Liners

The multi-million euro cruise-liner industry in Ireland may not recover from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic for three or four years. As the Independent.ie writes, the warning came as Government sources indicated there are no plans to lift a…

Afloat's photo of the diminutive Hebridean Sky berthed at Dublin Port's North Quay Wall Extension where the port has decided to abandon plans for cruise-berth expansion to enable considerably larger such ships to enter the capital port

Findings of Public Consultation Confirm Dublin Port Abandon Plans for Cruise Berth Expansion

11th August 2020 Cruise Liners

Plans to develop new cruise berths have been abandoned by Dublin Port Company (DPC) as part of the North Wall Quay Extension under the port's original Masterplan 2012-2040. The Masterplan’s two objectives were to provide capacity to cater for growth…

MS Serenade of the Seas berthed in Cobh last year. The town in Cork Harbour was due to host 105 liner visits this year and a further 110 liners were booked to tie up there in 2021.

Cruise Industry in Ireland Will Not Recover Until 2023

5th August 2020 Cruise Liners

Visits to Ireland by cruise liners are unlikely to recover fully until 2023, which will lead to a major drop in tourism revenue for towns such as Cobh. The town in Cork Harbour was due to host 105 liner visits…

All passengers disembarked the MS Roald Amundsen but about 60 people have since been quarantined in Tromso, Norway. AFLOAT adds the second of a pair of new hybrid-powered expedition cruiseships for Norwegian coastal operator Hurtigruten MS Fridtjof Nansen made a 'promotional' cruise to Belfast Harbour in early March just before Covid-19 began to pose more of an impact.

Crew Test Positive for Virus on Norwegian Cruiseship (Second Sister Having Called to Belfast in March)

3rd August 2020 Cruise Liners

Crew members, reports RTE News, numbering at least 36 have been confined on a Norwegian cruise ship to have tested positive for coronavirus, the company Hurtigruten said on Saturday. Arriving at the northern Norwegian port of Tromso from the archipelago…

The first large cruiseship to operate after the initial Covid-19 lock-down was TUI Cruises Maltese flagged Mein Schiff 2 with a restricted 1,200 passenger capacity due to health protocals. AFLOAT adds today the ship is nearing completion of a 3-day/2-night round trip mini-cruise from Hamburg, Germany, having made an anchorage call yesterday in southern Norway. Above AFLOAT's file photo of leadship Mein Schiff 1 (and associated tender) when at anchorage off Dun Laoghaire Harbour, noting this cruiseship is to be added with the second 'schiff' sister on cruises beginning in August.

First Large Cruiseship With 'Restricted Capacity' Is Back (Nears Voyage Completion Tonight)

26th July 2020 Cruise Liners

According to Cruise Industry News, the first large cruise ship is back in service as TUI's Mein Schiff 2 left on its first "Blue Cruise" (round-trip) from Hamburg, Germany with 1,200 guests on board. The TUI Cruises ship will not…