VIDEO: Dublin Port Welcomes Longest Ever Cruise Ship

Dublin Port Company welcomed on Monday the arrival of the 333m long MSC Splendida cruise liner, the longest ship to ever call at Dublin Port.

She is one of 83 cruise calls confirmed for Dublin Port this year, which will see a total of 140,000 passengers arriving to sample the sights of Dublin.

Currently ranked as the 11th longest cruise ship in the world, accommodating her arrival has pushed the boundaries of the port’s operational limits.

The ship’s 4,600 passengers and crew were greeted on Monday morning by a Celtic-inspired welcome on the quayside featuring a live ceili band, Irish drummers, dancers and entertainment before passengers departed for the city’s shops and attractions.

Dublin Port Company has also announced that Dublin Port will become the first Irish port to welcome Disney Cruise Line following confirmation that “Disney Magic” will call to Dublin in 2016.

The 300m long Disney Magic will make her maiden call to Dublin Port on 26th May 2016 as part of a transatlantic cruise starting in Port Canaveral, Florida and finishing in Dover, England. Disney Magic will visit Dublin again on 13th June 2016 as part of a 12 night cruise around Britain with Dublin selected as the only destination in Ireland. She will bring 2,700 passengers and a complement of 950 cast and crew to the city each time.

“2015 is an extraordinary year for our cruise business which we have been patiently building over the past decade. We started this year with 82 cruise ships booked to call to Dublin Port with a further 18 ships longer than we normally handle going to anchor in the bay, including the MSC Splendida. We are delighted that the MSC Splendida has now opted to call into Dublin Port,” Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Dublin Port Company, said.

“The cruise market is very dynamic and fast changing. We handled 86 ships last year and welcomed 141,000 visitors. We now expect that we will exceed these figures this year as many of the 18 ships which had originally planned to anchor in the bay may now opt to come into Dublin Port,” he added.

Dublin Port Company has developed the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project which is intended to transform the port to allow larger ships of all types, including the world’s largest cruise ships, to routinely call to Dublin Port.

In the case of cruise ships, they will berth upriver at the East Link Bridge and ships greater than 300m in length will be able to turn in the expanded Alexandra Basin West. The project, once complete, will mean that Dublin Port will be able to handle the world’s top ten largest cruise liners, including the 360m long Allure of the Seas.

Images: Port Dublin, Video: Youtube