Port of Cork celebrates its most successful cruise liner season

The Port of Cork celebrated a record year for its cruise liner business which saw almost 150,000 passengers and crew spend about €15 million in the region.

Saturday saw the arrival of the MV Boudicca, the final cruise liner of the season to Cobh, to mark the close of what has been the port's most successful season yet for cruise liner business.

The commercial manager of the port, Capt Michael McCarthy, said that 2015 had seen 55 cruise liners call to the port, carrying a record 145,000 passengers and crew on board.

“We have Ireland’s only dedicated cruise berth in Cobh and these cruise visitors have brought a much-needed boost to the local economy over the past eight months,” said Capt McCarthy.

"The sector is unique in that the cities and regions are the main beneficiaries of cruise calls with an estimated spend of €15 million in the south of Ireland alone this year from vessels visiting Cork Harbour."

Of the 55 cruise liners that called to the port this year, 10 were making their maiden call to Cork while 20 of the visiting ships were more than 330m long and carried more than 3,000 passengers.