#dlharbour – The 1083–foot Royal Princess Cruise Liner that anchored in Scotsman's Bay was welcomed at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on schedule this morning, just after 6am. It is the first cruise ship of the season to arrive at Dun Laoghaire and had sailed overnight from Cork Harbour into the Bay. It will remain off Dun Laoghaire Harbour all day, departing at 6pm.

No sooner had the 217–foot high Royal Princess dropped anchor approximately one kilometre east of Dun Laoghaire's East Pier lighhouse than the ship began disembarking some of its 5,000 passengers and crew by tender at 0630 hours.

Just before 7am the first two orange coloured tenders reached the harbour mouth escorted by a RIB flying a yellow flag.

A welcome programme for the Royal Princess will be staged in the seaside town today aimed at increasing visitor interest in Dun Laoghaire,  a Dublin suburb located 13km (8miles) south-east of the City Centre.

2015 is set to be the most successful cruise season for Dun Laoghaire, with an expected 100,000 passengers and crew expected to arrive into the Harbour over the next five months. A total of 21 calls will be made to Dun Laoghaire Harbour, with many of the ships involved bringing in more than 5,000 passengers and crew. The Royal Princess is a brand new next generation vessel and was launched in 2013.

This morning's Dun Laoghaire visit follows yesterday's one day stop-over of the MSC Splendida into Dublin Port, the biggest ship ever to visit the city centre.

#dlharbourcruise – Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group has launched its 2015 cruise–liner season. 2015 is set to be the most successful cruise season for Dun Laoghaire, with an expected 100,000 passengers and crew expected to arrive into the Harbour over the next five months. A total of 21 calls will be made to Dun Laoghaire Harbour, with many of the ships involved bringing in more than 5,000 passengers and crew.

The first cruise visit of the season will take place next Tuesday, 12th May with the arrival of the Royal Princess.

The third generation cruise ship will be on its maiden voyage, and will carry over 5,000 crew and passengers. Other ships that will take in Dun Laoghaire on their maiden voyages will be:

· Splendida (21st May)

· Celebrity Silhouette (14th June)

· Star Legend (26th June)

· Britannia (14th July)

· Mein Schiff 4 (18th September)

Ahead of the calls, the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group has put in place a welcome programme which will run for each cruise call. The welcome programme will comprise of:

Entertainment:
A welcome event will take place from 1pm to 3pm on each day of a cruise visit in the Lexicon Gardens. This event will feature traditional Irish dancing and music by local traditional Irish band, Celtic Hearts. This event will also be open to the public.

Ambassadors:
A team of eight local volunteers will greet each cruise arrival. The multi-lingual volunteers will be armed with local knowledge to help the cruise guests with any queries they might have. The ambassadors will also be dotted throughout the town, and will be easily identifiable in bright green jackets. The ambassadors will inform the passengers of local sights activities, and will also highlight the availability of free Wifi in the town.

Transport:
On arrival, cruise passengers will be transported by four 16-seater Mercedes mini-coaches from the harbour to the welcome event in the Lexicon Gardens. Courtesy shuttle buses will provide continuous transport services throughout the day, every day the cruise is in the harbour. The shuttle bus pick-up location will be signposted and easily identifiable for cruise crew and passengers.

Dun Laoghaire Stakeholder Group is comprised Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the local BID Company.

Speaking ahead of the event, Chairperson of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, Eithne Scott Lennon said: "We are delighted to be welcoming cruise visits in such numbers to Dun Laoghaire over the coming months.

"The forthcoming cruise season will give us a small insight into the potential which the cruise business has for Dun Laoghaire and the greater hinterland. The Harbour Company has been working collectively with the Council and local businesses to ensure that visitors get a taste of the local area through our welcome programme. Increased cruise visitors should provide a welcome boost to the local economy.

"This cruise season offers a wonderful opportunity to showcase what is available in the area for visitors, and I hope that the wider community will join in the welcome events and entertainment. While it's important to impress the cruise visitors, I also believe that more local families and people interested in ships will also come out to Dun Laoghaire and enjoy the impressive sight of these ships in our harbour. Apart from the multi-story third generation cruise ships, there will also be a selection of smaller and intriguing ships that will come right into the Harbour.

"Everyone can join in the entertainment that is being organised, and I would advise people to log onto our website or follow us on social media to get the latest updates on visits and activities," added Ms Scott Lennon.

#dlharbour – Dún Laoghaire BID (Business Improvement District) company is hailing plans for a next-generation cruise berth as a game-changer for the area's economy.

The Dún Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group (composed of the BID company, Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Co. Council) says the new cruise berth will provide a €27 million boost to the area and hinterlands and will lead to significant jobs growth but local yacht clubs have voiced concerns over the plan.

The Stakeholder Group has the long-term aim of emulating the Copenhagen model of welcoming 800,000 cruise visitors to Dublin per annum, with at least 50% of these coming to Dún Laoghaire. This will create new employment both at construction phase and develop employment and growth in the tourism industry in Dún Laoghaire and surrounding areas.

The expansion and development of the cruise business would offer significant economic benefits to Dún Laoghaire and the surrounding areas. These would include expenditure by disembarked passenger and crew; payments to excursion operators by cruise companies; harbour fees; and purchases by cruise ships of local supplies while in harbour.

The increased cruise passenger numbers will also contribute to significant additional domestic footfall in the town and harbour areas. It is expected that for every cruise passenger, at least one Irish resident will be attracted to the Harbour to look at the ships. This potential 400,000 increase in footfall will also add vibrancy to the area and represents economic opportunities for local businesses.

The BID company, which represents Dún Laoghaire's 800 plus businesses, says the new 390-metre berth will position Dún Laoghaire as leaders in marine and leisure tourism in Ireland and will transform the fortunes of business with the creation of new jobs in the area.

The proposed new berth at Dún Laoghaire Harbour will be one of just two in Ireland that can accommodate cruise ships up to 340m in length. At present Cobh is the only port in Ireland that can accommodate these vessels.

The Dún Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group developed the plans for the establishment of the new cruise berth facility. The Stakeholder Group welcomed the first cruise call to the Harbour in 2012 with 300 passengers and crew arriving that year. This snowballed and in 2013 30,000 cruise passengers arrived in Dún Laoghaire. This figure will treble this year with the arrival of 100,000 cruise passengers and crew to the Harbour.

Over 50% of new ships currently on order are over 300m in length. Cruise ships want to be able to dock and allow passengers to disembark directly on to a quay, rather than being taken ashore by tender.

Chairman of the Dún Laoghaire BID company, Don McManus says the new cruise berth will be a game changer for the economy in Dún Laoghaire and surrounding areas:

"Dún Laoghaire is designated as a marine tourism port under the Government's National Ports Policy, and the development of the new cruise berth will be fundamental to establishing the entire area as a leading marine and leisure destination."

"The expansion and development of the cruise business will offer significant economic benefits to Dún Laoghaire and the surrounding areas. These include expenditure by disembarked passenger and crew; payments to excursion operators by cruise companies; harbour fees; and purchases by cruise ships of local supplies while in harbour.

The planning application for the new facility is set to be submitted to An Bord Pleanala by the end of April.

– DL Harbour Company Press Release

#dublinport – Dublin Port took the opportunity to display a computer-generated image of what the East link bridge area of Dublin might look like at high water with a large cruise liner in the proposed berth when it attended the recent cruise–liner show in Miami, Florida.

Looking eastwards down the river Liffey, the artist's impression shows off the port company's plans for cruise liner berthing as previously reported by Afloat.ie last March. Dublin Port Company plan to redevelop the Alexandra Basin to include two berths for cruise ships of up to 340m in length which will accommodate ships that are significantly larger than the current maximum length of 300m.

Similar berthing plans for the massive ships are also underway across the bay in the south Dublin port of Dun Laoghaire.

The global cruise industry's premier annual international conference and exhibition in Miami drew more than 11,000 attendees and nearly 900 exhibiting companies from over 125 countries.

Dublin Port exhibited as part of 'Cruise Ireland', the island's association of Ports, Shore Excursions Operators, Tourism Organisations, City Councils who share the common objective of making the island of Ireland and all it's charms more accessible for the international Cruise Markets.

The computer-generated image is by New York based architecture firm Bermello Ajamil, whose projects include 'The World in Dubai', one of the most innovative land reclamation and development projects ever attempted.

Cruise Ireland was formed in 1998 after a few tentative years of individual Ports and regions successfully attracting cruise ships. Today the Ports of Ireland play host to some 300 cruise visits each year which is testament to the efforts made by the members of Cruise Ireland.

Each year the members bring improved facilities, unique tours and excellent service to the Cruise industry and the cruise guests who choose to visit.

#dlhc – Royal St. George Yacht Club Commodore Justin McKenna has resigned as a board member of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company (DLHC) with immediate effect. 

McKenna told members of his decision at a meeting of the country's biggest sailing club last Friday. The meeting was held to discuss controversial DLHC proposals on the new cruise liner berthing arrangements inside the harbour that has drawn the ire of many Dun Laoghaire sailors.

The Minister of Sport appointed McKenna to the Harbour Company Board  in March 2014, as Afloat.ie reported at the time. 

As the Irish Times reported last Friday there is growing dissatisfaction among 5,000 sailing and boating fans over proposals that, say objectors, will curtail sailing inside the harbour walls.

Royal St. George members have been urged to let their views be known on the 435–metre long quay to be built next to their clubhouse. The club also wants individual sailing classes to make submissions.

It follows an online petition set up by sailors that has attracted 1500 signatures to save 'Dun Laoghaire dinghy sailing' 

Friday's meeting was followed by an open session for Royal St. George members. An 'abbreviated version' of the points raised has appeared on club facebook page as follows:

• The councillors should be advised that the city of Venice is considering banning all big cruise liners because they are causing untold damage to the fabric of the city. The income from these liners is valued at 10c per passenger

• Cruise ships are good for Dun Laoghaire, anchored in the bay and we welcome SMALL ships in the harbour.

• Each sailing class should make a submission and encourage submissions

• The economic benefit to Dun Laoghaire is not good from the passenger perspective. There will be initial public interest. However, this will fall off over time as people become bored with them

• The only beneficiaries will be the coach tour operators

• Some basic calculations would indicate that it will take + 100 yrs. to recover the construction cost

• The Dublin Port proposal is in direct competition yet it is only a few miles away.

• The consultation period closes next Monday and it is important that the club advises members to object to the planning board a.s.a.p.

• Dun Laoghaire is the major centre for youth training on the island of Ireland. This proposal will have a detrimental if not fatal effect on this activity

• The scale of the ships is difficult to comprehend and is out of character with a Victorian harbour.

• International Sailing events will not come to Dun Laoghaire. Tourism Ireland will not be happy.

• The Water wag class commenced sailing in the harbour in 1887 and is one of the oldest racing classes in the world.

• Irish Lights have conducted many studies of the harbour bed and a considerable area is covered in granite. Dredging cost numbers will be almost double the cost estimated and Dublin Port will be gaining from the anchoring dues.

DLHC says the plan is to facilitate some of the world's biggest cruise liners berthing inside the harbour. The aim is to regenerate the harbour and town following the loss of the HSS Stena car ferry between Dun Laoghaire and Holyhead in February.

A total of 22 cruise ships are expected to berth this summer, bringing up to 100,000 passengers and crew to the port bringing up to €7m in revenues, 30% of whicdh will be spent locally in Dun Laoghaire, according to DLHC.

A public consultation is underway following DLHC presentations with over 20 separate stakeholders groups.

Observations or comments can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by post to Jean Finnegan, Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, Harbour Lodge, Crofton Rd, Dun Laoghaire, anytime up to 5pm on Monday, 13th April 2015.

A copy of the DLHC presentation is HERE.

#dlharbour – Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company has unveiled a proposed €18m plan to facilitate some of the world's biggest cruise liners inside the harbour walls. A Public consultation will open on the plans for the new cruise berth facility next Monday.

The ambitious new plan is to regenerate the harbour following the loss of the HSS Stena car ferry between Dun laoghaire and Holyhead in February. There is currently no commerical traffic coming in or out of the harbour but a total of 22 cruise ships are expected at the harbour this Summer, bringing up to 100,000 passengers and crew to the east coast port.

The development of the new cruise berth facility is essential to allow to build on the success to date to bring even more vessels and passengers, according to the harbour company, a state owned commerical entity. 

The plan will involve the construction of a new quay wall and dredging of the harbour to facilitate ships up to 300 metres in length, (twice the length of the former HSS ferry) which cannot be currently accomodated anywhere else in Ireland other than Cobh in Cork Harbour on the South coast.

The plan is being unveiled this week to harbour and town interest groups including yachts and boat clubs and sailing schools over the course of 20 presentation meetings, according to Afloat.ie sources.

A new 435–metre quay wall be built in the middle of the harbour in front of the east marina breakwater to facilitate cruise ships. 

If the plan goes ahead the expected construction period is expected to take 15-18 months. Dredging is expected to be to a depth of 10.5 metres to accoomodate the massive ships.

Members of the public and harbour stakeholders are being invited by the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group to submit their views on plans for the development.

The two week public consultation process will open next Monday (30.03.2015) and is being launched in advance of an expected planning application to An Board Pleanala for the project. The planning application will be made by Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company on behalf of the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group.

The cruise industry is an important and growing sector of the tourism market. Cruise ships are getting bigger in size, offering more facilities to passengers, but requiring deeper water and longer berths of accommodate them. Over 50% of new ships currently on order are over 300m in length. At present Cobh is the only port in Ireland that can accommodate these vessels. If facilities are not put in place, Ireland risks losing out on the expanding cruise tourism market.

Under the Planning and Development Acts, the cruise berth facility is regarded as strategic infrastructure and the planning application must therefore be made to An Bord Pleanala. It is expected that a finalised planning application and Environmental Impact Statement will go to An Bord Pleanala the end of April / early May 2015. Responses from the public and stakeholders during the consultation process will be taken into account when finalising the application to An Bord Pleanala. When the final application goes to An Bord Pleanala, observations and submissions may be made by members of the public and certain statutory bodies.

Speaking in relation to the launch of the consultation process, Gerry Dunne, CEO of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company said: "The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Masterplan, published in 2011, identified the need to develop strategies to ensure the long term future of the harbour, in view of the declining importance of ferry traffic. Development of cruise business was identified as one of the opportunities to be pursued. In addition, Dun Laoghaire is designated as a marine tourism port under the Government's National Ports Policy and the development of the cruise business fits into this framework.

"Dun Laoghaire will have its most successful cruise season ever in 2015, with a total of 22 ships expected, bringing up to 100,000 passengers and crew to the harbour. However the development of the cruise berth facility is essential to allow to build on the success to date and to bring even more vessels and passengers to our town.

"The expansion and development of the cruise business offers significant economic benefits to Dun Laoghaire and the surrounding areas. These would include expenditure by disembarked passenger and crew; payments to tour operators by cruise companies and purchases by cruise ships from local supplies while in harbour.

"This is a hugely exciting project for Dun Laoghaire and the members of the Cruise Stakeholder Group are anxious to hear the views of the public before finalising our application to An Bord Pleanala. Full details of the proposals will be available on the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Website from Monday next at www.dlharbour.ie.

#CruiseLiners- Azores became the first cruiseship in 2015 to Dublin Port yesterday out of around 85 calls this season, while a further 22 such ships calling for Dun Laoghaire Harbour, are mostly to anchor offshore, writes Jehan Ashmore.

This year's first seasonal arrival to Dublin Port saw Azores call from the UK while on charter to Cruise & Maritime Voyages. The 550 passenger ship is on a cruise bound for Iceland having departed Avonmouth, (the cruise port for Bristol) from where she had completed a Norwegian fjords cruise.

Both Dublin Bay ports are expecting to follow the success of previous years. Dublin Port in 2014 alone handled over 135,000 passengers and crew visiting the capital city which generated a major economic boost of €50 million. This season the port is to welcome some very large callers, among them Caribbean Princess, Queen Victoria and Norwegian Star.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour is set to achieve significant growth as also previously reported on Afloat.ie, compared to the last four seasons, which started off, with just one-cruiseship, the 48-passenger Quest, but in 2015 there will be a major bumper season totalling 22 callers.

The inaugural caller to Dun Laoghaire will also be the biggest (in passenger capacity) when Splendida calls on May 15th and again on the 21st of that same month. The massive 137,000 tonnes ship operated by MSC Cruises has 3,900 passengers and 1,346 crew is also scheduled to make a third call at the end of August.

The south Dublin Bay port will also welcome notable large-sized anchorage callers, among them the return of Queen Mary 2, albeit a once-off call on 20th May.

Before the Cunard Line 'flagship''s visit, Princess Cruises impressive Royal Princess (see Belfast visit) will make a debut call to Dun Laoghaire. A sister, albeit P&O Cruises 143,000 tonnes Brittania, the largest ever cruisehip built exclusively for the UK market, is to make her first arrival off Dun Laoghaire in July.

The 3,647 passenger capacity and 1,350 crew of Britannia made her maiden call to her homeport of Southampton earlier this month. As mentioned above, the newbuild in July is to make an inaugural UK & Ireland cruise which includes the call to Dun Laoghaire. 

If every cruiseship is assumed to have full capacity and all passengers go ashore then Dun Laoghaire can expect some 63,237 tourists over the course of the 2015 season. In addition to all ship's crew numbers this figure would be boosted by over 25,000 bringing potentially 88,282 in total visitors.

The rising boom in the cruise industry and the issue of accomodating increasingly large cruiseships has led to Dublin Port to propose plans to build a dedicated cruise terminal closer the city-centre. At Dun Laoghaire Harbour, there are plans to build a facility, given the demise of Stena HSS operations on the route to Holyhead that closed last year. 

#portofcork – The Port of Cork will invest over €1.5 million in upgrading facilities at Cobh Cruise liner Terminal, Ireland's only dedicated cruise berth, with the installation of a number of high load mooring bollards at the east and west end of the Cobh Cruise Berth which will enable larger ships to be berthed.

The work which will commence before the end of January is expected to be completed by April 2015 in time to welcome the first cruise call on 24th April. In total, 55 cruise liners are scheduled to call to Cork in 2015, 10 of which are maiden calls and 20 of which will be carrying in excess of 3,000 passengers.

Speaking about the upgrades, Captain Michael McCarthy said "The Port of Cork Company is committed to developing the cruise business into Cork and these upgrades of our cruise berth in Cobh will enable us to accommodate 'Quantum Class' vessels which are the largest cruise liners currently operating in Europe. The global trend in the cruise industry is changing from smaller, high end ships to large 'mega ships' such the 'Quantum Class' vessels which can carry in excess of 4,000 passengers.

"Attracting these 'mega ships' to Cobh would be a huge advantage, not only for the Port but for the entire Cork region. We know that the cruise industry is worth between €13 and €14 million annually to Cork alone so there are some major opportunities for the tourist industry to capitalise on this."

During the initial period of construction, there will be some temporary changes to parking at the east end of the Five Foot Way car park in Cobh and some limitations for pedestrian access. However the Port of Cork will ensure that any disruption is minimised and appreciates the understanding and co-operation from car park users whilst construction is underway.

#dublinport – Dublin Port Company marked the end of a successful cruise season for 2014 as the final cruise liner to visit Dublin this year, the "Boudicca", docked in Dublin Port early on Saturday morning. Cruise liners carrying over 135,000 passengers and crew to Ireland's capital city generated a major economic boost of €50 million during 2014.

"Boudicca" sailed in to Dublin Port at 9.30am having departed Liverpool the previous evening. Carrying over 1,200 passengers and crew, this was the 205 metre ship's fourth 'mini cruise' to Dublin this month. Her arrival in December highlights how Dublin Port's cruise season has been extended by an additional two months, bringing high-spend visitors and revenue to the city at a key trading period. The "Boudicca" passengers represent a more independent cruise traveller looking to experience the sights and sounds of the capital in the run up to Christmas.

Passengers were welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, amidst a Winter Wonderland scene created on the quayside, before departing for the city's sights, shops and eateries.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, said: "I am honoured to welcome the 1,200 cruise passengers who arrived in Dublin Port full of eager anticipation about their visit to the city. Dublin is a truly vibrant destination with a wealth of culture and cuisine, attractions and entertainment to offer passengers. I congratulate Dublin Port Company on its tremendous work to promote and cater for cruise tourism to Dublin. I am confident that Dublin has great potential to grow as a cruise destination and benefit the city's businesses even further."

Mr. Pat Ward, Head of Corporate Services, Dublin Port Company said: "This ship brings over 1,200 passengers and a welcome boost to Dublin just before Christmas, marking the end of a thriving cruise season at Dublin Port. Cruise is an important part of Dublin's tourism product and Dublin Port Company has worked hard to attract this valuable business to the city. The arrival of Winter cruises is a clear example of changing passenger patterns and demand for Dublin as Ireland's top cruise destination."

"It is essential that Dublin Port Company continues to facilitate passenger demand so that Dublin remains the port of choice for cruise. We are committed to investing in the necessary port infrastructure to achieve this, such as longer, deeper berths envisaged under our ABR Project. This type of investment will allow Dublin to flourish, giving larger ships, including cruise liners, the modern facilities they need to dock within striking distance of the city."

#dlharbour – Dun Laoghaire Harbour CEO Gerry Dunne say there is a  great opportunity for Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Dublin Port to work collaboratively on Dublin Bay to emulate the success of Danish capital, Copenhagen in attracting approximately 500,000 cruise visitors per year, which would represent a quadrupling of visitor numbers coming to Dublin Bay in 2015.

In 2011, the Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group was formed to bring together various stakeholders with an interest in developing cruise business for the greater Dun Laoghaire area . This stakeholder group includes Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dun Laoghaire Business Improvement District [BID]

The Dun Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group engaged in a vigorous marketing campaign, particularly in the United States, to enable Dun Laoghaire to tap into this growing market.

Dun Laoghaire welcomed two cruise calls in 2012 with 140 passengers onboard. Last year saw 13 cruise vessels use the facilities at Dun Laoghaire, with the highlight of the season being the visits of Cunard's Queen Mary II and Queen Victoria.

"Since 2012, due to the attractiveness of Dun Laoghaire and its wonderful harbour, the number of cruise bookings has grown exponentially and 2015 will be the most successful year ever for Dun Laoghaire in terms of attracting cruise passengers to the harbour.", according to Gerry Dunne, CEO of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. 23 cruise vessels have been confirmed to visit Dun Laoghaire in 2015.

The size of these ships is such that they will bring a record 66,867 passengers. With Dublin Port expecting to attract 60,751 cruise passengers, it will be a record year for Dublin Bay. 2015 will be the first year where the number of cruise passengers landing in Dun Laoghaire will exceed those landing in Dublin Port," Mr. Dunne said.

"The great opportunity for Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Dublin Port is to work collaboratively to emulate the success of Copenhagen in attracting approximately 500,000 cruise visitors per year, which would represent a quadrupling of visitor numbers coming to Dublin Bay in 2015", Mr. Dunne added.

"Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company will be working with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dun Laoghaire's Business Improvement District to ensure that cruise passengers have a memorable visit to the town and are encouraged to return again, providing a valuable source of business for retail outlets and restaurants, which will deliver a huge economic boost for the town and its hinterland."

"Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is currently finalising an application to An Bord Pleanala under Strategic Infrastructure Development to build a new €15m cruise berth facility to cater for the "next generation cruise ships".

"The development of the cruise business is a key element of the Dun Laoghaire Habour Masterplan published in 2011 and is consistent with the role set out for the Habour in the government's National Ports Policy, which sees Dun Laoghaire Harbour developing as a marine leisure and tourist destination of international calibre" Mr. Dunne said.