Get ready to set sail

Prices are down, capacity is up, and Ireland is poised to grow as a port of call. Pól Ó Conghaile on why there’s never been a better time to cruise.

SHE’S ROUGHLY the same length as Titanic, but when MSC Lirica docks in Cobh this Wednesday, will locals bat an eyelid? This is merely a medium-sized cruise ship, after all. It carries just 2,069 passengers. It has only eight bars, a 700-seater theatre and two pools.

The people of Cobh — well, they’ve seen bigger. Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, for instance, which cruised into Cork this May. It brought 3,634 guests, a tonnage three times that of MSC Lirica, and its very own surf simulator, ice-skating rink and rock-climbing wall.