Belfast might be the city which built the Titanic, but for years it has not had a berth suitable for today’s giant modern cruise ships.
That changed on Tuesday when the Crown Princess became the first vessel to tie up at the £10 million extension to Stormont Wharf at the head of Belfast Lough. She is the first of 40 cruise ships expected to bring more than 60,000 passengers to Northern Ireland this year.
NI Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy unveiled a commemorative plaque on what is now the longest deep-water berth in Ireland, as 3,100 passengers flocked ashore, many of them heading for the Titanic Quarter.
On Monday, the 113,000-ton Crown Princess had become the biggest cruise ship ever to sail into the Mersey, making a maiden call in Liverpool. Today she sets a similar record in the Clyde, when she arrives at Greenock.
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
We sailed into Belfast on the Golden Princess (a large ship) in 2005.
Golden Princess is a similar class ship, but is 109,000 tonnage and carries 2,600 passengers. Crown Princess is newer, bigger, and 113,000 tonnage with 3,100 passengers
We live in Belfast and cannot wait to sail up Belfast Lough on the Crown Princess in a month’s time. It sold us on the cruise trip
We live in Belfast and we are very excited about sailing up Belfast Lough on the Crown Princess in a Month’s time. It was the main reason we choose this trip