‘Tis a fine vessel, it has to be said.
The Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship, which measures 317 metres in length and can carry over 4,000 passengers and crew, arrived in Dublin on Wednesday morning.
The arrival of the ship marks the start of Dublin Port’s 2017 cruise season, which will see 130 cruise calls confirmed for Dublin Port this year, bringing over 200,000 passengers and crew to visit the city and benefit the local economy.
Having arrived from Cobh, the Celebrity Eclipse won’t be hanging around for long and is due to depart Dublin at 10.30pm tonight (Wednesday) to spend two days at sea before arriving at her next port of call, Akureyri, Iceland, as part of the ship’s 12-day itinerary touring the UK, Ireland and Iceland.
The ship features *pauses for breath* a choice of 13 restaurants and cafes, one of the largest wine collections at sea, a spa and solarium, a Lawn Club including half an acre of real grass lawn on the top deck, hot glass blowing demonstrations, swimming pools, a casino, a theatre, boutique shopping, a basketball court, an art gallery, a library, an internet café, a portrait studio and Suite Class accommodation with butler service *exhales*.
Safe to say passengers on board the 17-deck luxury liner aren’t likely to become bored easily.
Celebrity Eclipse will be back in Dublin in 2018 when she becomes the first ship of a major cruise line to call Dublin Port a ‘home port’ and will be based in Dublin Port for a mini-season of holidays to Northern Europe next year.
The development is believed to be worth an estimated €6 million to Dublin and the surrounding areas in knock-on economic benefits. Dublin Port Company has already established Cruise Dublin to promote the interests of local businesses to international cruise lines and their passengers.
Such is the length of the vessel, meanwhile, Celebrity Eclipse had to manoeuvre into Dublin Port ‘stern first’, i.e. in reverse, this morning. Ships greater than 300 metres in length cannot turn within Dublin Port and are therefore brought stern first (reversed) up the River Liffey.
This complex manoeuvre will no longer be necessary once Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project is complete as larger, longer ships will then be able to routinely call at the port and turn within the expanded Alexandra Basin West and berth further upriver, closer to the city at the Tom Clarke Bridge.
The planned redevelopment is expected to result in an extra 600,000 tourists for the city annually, three times current visitor levels.
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