THE luxurious
‘Queen Elizabeth’ docked in Dún Laoghaire last week in another coup for the harbour.
It follows the impressive welcome the seaside town put on for the arrival of the world’s largest ocean liner,
‘The Queen Mary 2’, last May.
The decision by the Cunard Line to bring a second of the three Royal sisters to Dublin has been seen as a major thumbs-up for the Dún Laoghaire Cruise Stakeholder Group, which attracted 14 cruise ships with over 30,000 passengers and crew this year, generating a spend of e3 million for the area.
This compares with the arrival of just two cruise ships last year.
While
‘The Queen Elizabeth’ is not quite as gigantic as the
‘QM2’, she is still a spectacular size.
Measuring 294 metres in length, she is over 20 metres longer than
‘The Titanic’.
The Cruise Stakeholder Group is hoping that the third and final Royal sister in the Cunard family,
‘The Queen Victoria’, will visit next year.
Don McManus of Dún Laoghaire Business Association paid tribute to the commitment of business people in the area to create an outstanding experience for cruise guests.
“Passengers are played ashore by a piper and they are greeted by a welcoming committee with information packs and voucher booklets,
? he said.
“Then shuttle buses bring them to the centre of the town.
“One of the biggest perks for passengers and crew alike is the high speed free wireless especially installed throughout the town. We even beam it out to the cruise ships.
?
The initiative is backed by Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and the Dún Laoghaire Business Association.