Belfast’s cruise sector has recovered strongly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic with 141 ships calling in the city during this year’s season.
That is just shy of the record of 146 set in 2019 and represents 50 different ships from some 33 cruise lines, including 18 making their first visit to the city. They carried more than 250,000 visitors.
The result is a far cry from 2020 when a scheduled 129 ships due to call at the port were cancelled by the pandemic. It is also a big jump on the 70 which visited the city in 2021 as the sector embarked on a cautious return to normality.
The strong performance this year is testament to Northern Ireland’s growing popularity as a tourist destination, Cruise Belfast, a partnership between Belfast Harbour and Visit Belfast, said.
“With our visitor numbers increasing again following the pandemic, this cruise season has been as runaway success as we welcomed both international and first-time visitors to Northern Ireland,” Mary Jo McCanny, Director of Visitor Servicing at Visit Belfast, said. “Belfast has built a strong reputation as a welcoming and exciting cruise destination and this busy season is reflective of the strong working relationships that Cruise Belfast has with global cruise operators.”
Amongst the ships making their first visit to Belfast were the ‘Enchanted Princess’ and ‘Island Princess’ from Princess Cruises and the ‘Ambassador Ambience’ from Ambassador, a new British cruise line. Returning ships included the ‘Disney Magic’ which arrived with some 2,700 passengers and crew on board.
“This year’s busy cruise schedule signals a comeback for the tourism industry following two difficult years, and we were delighted to have many prestigious cruise lines docking in Belfast,” Michael Robinson, Belfast Harbour’s Port Director, said.
