Visit by cruise liner

The MS Fram cruise ship sailed into Londonderry today, bringing an exclusive group of 418 passengers and crew to explore the city and region as part of their ‘Isles in Spring’ cruise.

This expedition-style small ship specialises in offering its passengers a truly unique experience by visiting the ‘hidden gems’ which are often inaccessible for larger ships. This particular tour offers mix of buzzing cities, remote islands, historical towns, cultural sights and rugged landscapes. The 12-day cruise set sail from Bergan, Norway and will also include visits to the Hebridean Islands, the Shetland Islands, Galway, Cobh and Portsmouth before finishing in Hamburg, Germany.

Visitors were treated to a ‘LegenDerry’ welcome as they reached the shore and enjoyed a piping and dance display from ‘Walled City Tattoo’ performers, giving passengers a mini preview of the highly anticipated event which will be held in the city in August. Passengers were also greeted by the Visit Derry Tourist Information Staff who were onsite to provide literature, maps and information about the surrounding areas.

Mayor Martin Reilly met the Captain on board the ship and said he was delighted to welcome passengers from the luxurious Fram who will get the chance to experience some of the city.

He commented “It’s a great honour to welcome international visitors to our city and this provides a great opportunity for us to showcase the city’s rich culture, unique heritage, great restaurants and eateries and of course unrivalled entertainment. It is great to see the city featured as a scheduled stopover where visitors can disembark and enjoy the places of interest and stunning scenery the region has to offer. Let’s hope the weather stays fine and that we can provide a real LegenDerry welcome to the cruise passengers”.

The Fram also kindly granted access to the North West Regional College who are bringing 15 of their Travel & Tourism students to experience first-hand the roles, responsibilities and opportunities of life onboard an international cruise ship.

Aoife Thomas, Business & Leisure Tourism Officer at Visit Derry, commented: “We are delighted the MS Fram is returning to the River Foyle as our first call of 2014.

“We look forward to welcoming over 4,500 passengers to the city this season which will generate an estimated economic impact of £210,000 to the local economy. Visit Derry and Foyle Port have been working in close partnership to promote the city as a must visit cruise destination and have just returned from a USA sales mission, meeting with major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises and the Holland America Line. The destination’s rich cultural and musical heritage combined with our stunning hinterland of Co. Donegal and the Giant’s Causeway was of major interest to the operators and has already resulted in confirmed business for 2015.”

Foyle Port Harbour Master, Bill McCann, said the MS Fram entered Lough Foyle around 6am and is due to berth at Fort George around 8am.

“She’s a 370 foot long Norwegian-registered vessel with a tonnage of just under 12,700, and she does a speed of 13 knots.”