Galway City businesses could benefit from cruise ship passengers to the tune of almost €2 million over the course of the summer months as such ships are due to anchor off the bay.
A total of 22 cruise ships will arrive in Galway between May and the end of September and it is expected that those on board will provide a much needed boost for the local economy. Two of those will pay a visit to the Aran Islands (see related story) as well.
Some of the ships will have up to 1,000 passengers on board – one of the bigger ships Nautica, which will have around 2,000 passengers on board, will visit Galway in the summer of 2024 and this is bound to be an attraction in itself.
The first cruise ship (Borealis, from Cobh) arrived off Galway Bay in the past fortnight and resulted in some 800 passengers being ferried into the city for the day.
They were transported from the 61,000grt cruiseship to the Glór na Farraige (see photo) of Aran Island Ferries, which actually started operating its tourist service from Ros a’ Mhíl to the islands much earlier than normal due to the demand.
More from Connacht Tribune and the Port of Galway harbourmaster.
The Glór na Farraige Afloat recalls an east coast role back in 2015 when also chartered to bring cruise-passengers ashore off Dun Laoghaire Harbour from where yesterday, NCL's giant Norwegian Getaway (145,000grt) made an anchorage call.
