CRUISE SHIP NEWS
SOUTH WEST
More cruise liners packed with American tourists
will call at West Country ports this year than ever before.
The number of cruise liners visiting the region is expected to triple in
the coming months and years, generating about £6.5 million to the local
economy.
The news follows a successful lobbying trip to
Florida by
Destination South West, the organisation charged with promoting Devon,
Cornwall and Dorset ports and attractions to cruise companies around the
world.
Bob Harrison, director
of cruise operations for Destination South West, said 97 cruise liners
would this year visit ports including
Falmouth in
Cornwall,
Dartmouth and
Plymouth in
Devon and the Isles of Scilly - a 217 per cent increase since the
organisation started promoting the region's ports six years ago.
Mr Harrison said: "It's very good for the South West. But what's even
more important to stress is that 40 per cent of these visitors will
return to the region if they have a good time. So it's up to us here in
the Westcountry to make sure they do."
It is estimated that each of the 800 passengers on board the cruise
liners will spend about £85 while visiting
Cornwall,
Devon or
Dorset.
Mr Harrison added: "And that's not even counting what crews will spend.
So it's good news for the region."
Altogether 10 ports will welcome American and German cruise liners from
the Isles of Scilly and Mount's Bay in
West Cornwall to
Portland and
Poole in
Dorset,
Plymouth and Ilfracombe.
The first port to welcome the new cruise liners will be
Falmouth when the VAN GOGH, the OCEAN NOVA and the
BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS
cruise ships call into port. The Van Gogh will berth on Saturday April
5.
The VAN GOGH will also be the last ship to visit the region this year
when it comes to Falmouth on December 21. Although
Torbay
will not be visited this year, Mr Harrison is adamant the English
Riviera will see cruise ships return next year.
Polly Birchall, tourism manager at South Hams District Council, said:
"It will have a very positive economic impact on the region. Cruise
travellers are high spenders so this will benefit shops in the ports
where they will stop including Dartmouth. This should benefit the whole of the region."
The busy schedule of cruise liner visits came after representatives of
Destination South West lobbied companies during a UK Trade and
Investment-funded visit to
Florida last month. [Western Morning News]
PORT OF CORK
The Port of Cork
anticipates a bumper cruise season in 2008 as it reaps the rewards of
continuing investment in enhanced port facilities for visiting cruise
ships. During 2008 the port will host a record 51 cruise ships with over
72,000 passenger capacity. This compares favourably with 2007 which had
also been a record year when Cork hosted 40 ships and 42,000 passengers.
The Port of Cork
Company has committed further resources to improving its port
facilities with additional dredging at the Cobh Cruise Terminal to
permit the handling of Royal Caribbean’s Freedom class ships, at 160,000
gross tons and 4400 passenger capacity, this is the largest cruise ship
in terms of tonnage and passenger capacity afloat today.
Cork is the only
major Irish cruise port capable of berthing such vessels at all stages
of the tide and the growing number of ships, both large and small,
calling at the port is recognition by the cruise industry of Cork’s
strategic importance to the future of cruising on the Atlantic seaboard
of Europe.
More than half of
the vessels calling at the port will have capacity in excess of 1000
passengers, among them some really eye catching ships such as the
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS, one of Royal Caribbean’s aforementioned
Freedom class ships, Princess Cruises’
GRAND PRINCESS,
(109,000 gross tons and 3300 passenger capacity), Mediterranean Shipping
Company’s
MSC POESIA,
the latest addition to the European line’s rapidly growing fleet and
Cunard Line’s QUEEN
ELIZABETH 2, the world’s most famous ocean liner.
On entering service
in May 2008, the
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS will be the largest ship
ever to be home-ported in Europe. Her maiden voyage will be a four day
short break from Southampton to Cork to Southampton cruise, one of three
cruises the vessel will undertake this year. As with similar calls by
the NAVIGATOR OF THE
SEAS in 2007,
INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS will
overnight at the port and is sure to receive a very special welcome. It
is expected that thousands of people will travel from all parts of
Ireland to see the ship. The vessel will thus provide a significant twin
boost to the local economy with the economic impact being derived from
both passengers and Irish residents alike.
Altogether Royal
Caribbean will account for six cruise calls with sister company
Celebrity Cruises accounting for a further two calls.
Princess Cruises
will have an impressive programme of five visits to Cork with three
calls by the magnificent
GRAND PRINCESS (her first ever call to
the port) and one call each by
PACIFIC PRINCESS and ROYAL
PRINCESS.
The QE2 has long
been a favourite ship at the Port of Cork dating back to the early
1970’s when Cork was on the vessel’s regular transatlantic itinerary. In
July 1990 the vessel called with a twofold purpose – part of Cunard’s
150-year celebrations and to mark the official opening of the port’s
Ringaskiddy Deepwater Terminal.
When the vessel
calls in October it will be as part of her final round Britain and
Ireland cruise before she departs in November for Dubai, where the
refurbished liner will be berthed at a specially constructed pier as a
floating hotel, retail and entertainment destination.
In April the new
90,000 ton 3000 passenger
MSC POESIA
will call to Cork as part of her pre-inaugural cruise from Dover to
Venice.
Cruise traffic
through the Port of Cork provides a major economic stimulus to the
economies of the city and county of Cork, together with the neighbouring
counties of Kerry and Waterford.
An independent
economic impact study undertaken by the Centre for Policy Studies,
University College Cork found that the regional economic contribution of
the Port of Cork’s cruise business in 2004, when the port handled 36
cruise ships and 33,500 cruise passengers, amounted to €28 million and
supported 204 full time equivalent jobs. With 51 cruise calls in 2008
offering passenger capacity in excess of 70,00 it is clear that the
value of the Port of Cork’s cruise business has increased significantly
and the study will be updated during this current season.
While enhanced port
facilities contribute to the popularity of the Port of Cork as a port of
call, the real appeal is the quality and variety of shore side
attractions on offer. At the quayside next to the Cobh Cruise Terminal
at the town's restored Victorian Railway Station is Cobh Heritage Centre
where a vivid multi media exhibition dramatically recalls the story of
Cobh's origins, its unique history and legacy and where individual
themes include the Titanic, the Lusitania, emigration and the great
Irish famine. Passengers can stroll from the cruise ship along the
attractive colourful town where a warm welcome always awaits.
The port offers an
array of half day and full day shore excursions including visits to some
of Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions including Cork city,
Ireland’s second city, world renowned Blarney Castle (home of the famed
Blarney stone), the Jameson Heritage Centre at Midleton, the bea |