The MSC Meraviglia has made history, becoming the largest cruise ship ever to call in Northern Ireland as she docked today in Belfast Harbour.
Antonio Paradiso Managing Director, MSC Cruises UK and Ireland said: “It is a pleasure to be here in Belfast celebrating a milestone for both MSC Cruises and the Northern Irish cruise industry. Belfast Harbour is an institution to shipping and we are proud to continue to support the expansion of the cruise business with one of the largest ships in our fleet calling at the port. Today we have over 5,300 guests from more than 32 countries discovering the city and the surrounding areas, and we are delighted to be able to share such a beautiful part of the world with our guests.”
He added: “As well as bringing guests to visit Northern Ireland, in 2018 we carried a record number of Northern Irish passengers on our ships to destinations around the world with popular destinations including the Western Mediterranean and the Caribbean.”
Michael Robinson, Belfast Harbour’s Port Director added: “Belfast Harbour has a long-standing relationship with MSC Cruises, with the cruise line making its first call to the port in 2013. We’re thrilled to welcome MSC Meraviglia as the largest cruise ship to ever visit Northern Ireland and we look forward to MSC Cruises ships returning again next year. The trend in the northern European cruise market is for ever-larger vessels and Belfast Harbour has already created a deep-water cruise quay and has invested in the development of a cruise terminal building in partnership with Visit Belfast and Tourism NI.”
The ship has spent the summer season sailing Northern Europe from Kiel Germany and is visiting Belfast as part of a 17-night transatlantic cruise from Kiel to New York visiting ports including Copenhagen, Reykjavik and Halifax.
The MSC Meraviglia will then spend several weeks exploring ports in North America and Canada, before making her way to Miami, sailing in the Caribbean, where she will become the first ship to call at MSC Cruises new private island in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
