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The first cruise ship to Belfast Harbour for the 2022 season arrived on Friday, with the tourism industry anticipating a bumper season after taking a massive hit from Covid-19.

The Viking Venus, a 930-passenger vessel owned by Viking Cruises, is the first of 130 cruise ships expected to bring up to 340,000 visitors to Belfast in 2022.

Belfast is a stop on Viking Cruises’ 15-day voyage between London and Bergen in Norway (which included a tender call of Dun Laoghaire Harbour)

Belfast Harbour said 18 of the cruise ships would be first-time visitors, and many would visit on multiple occasions. In total, there are 50 vessels from 33 cruise lines due to arrive.

Newcomers include the Ambassador Ambience from British cruise line, Ambassador, and Princess Cruises’ Enchanted Princess and Island Princess.

Michael Robinson, Belfast Harbour’s port director, said: “Following two challenging years for tourism, the team at Belfast Harbour is thrilled to have 130 cruise vessels booked for arrival at our port in 2022.

Further coverage the Belfast Telegraph reports. 

Published in Cruise Liners

About Rosslare Europort

2021 sees Rosslare Europort hitting a new record with a total of 36 shipping services a week operating from the port making it one of the premier Irish ports serving the European Continent. Rosslare Europort is a gateway to Europe for the freight and tourist industries. It is strategically located on the sunny south-east coast of Ireland.

Rosslare is within a 90-minute driving radius of major Irish cities; Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Rosslare Europort is a RoRo, RoPax, offshore and bulk port with three RoRo berths with a two-tier linkspan, we also have a dedicated offshore bulk berth.

Exports in Rosslare Europort comprise mainly of fresh products, food, pharmaceuticals, steel, timber and building supplies. While imports are largely in the form of consumer goods such as clothes, furniture, food, trade vehicles, and electronics.

The entire Europort is bar-swept to 7.2 meters, allowing unrestricted access to vessels with draughts up to 6.5 metres. Rosslare Europort offers a comprehensive service including mooring, stevedoring and passenger-car check-in for RoRo shipping lines. It also provides facilities for offshore, dry bulk and general cargo.

The port currently has twice-daily round services to the UK and direct services to the continent each day. Rosslare Europort has a fleet of Tugmasters service, fork-lift trucks, tractors and other handling equipment to cater for non-standard RoRo freight.