Cobh welcomes its first cruise liner in two years 

2,000 passengers brought a buzz back to the harbour town that had been missing during the pandemic as the vital tourist trade was curtailed

Siona Joyce - Director of the Titanic Experience, Cobh, Jack Walsh - Manager The Heritage Centre, John Sweeney, Treasurer and Deputy President of Cobh & Harbour Chamber, Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer, the Port of Cork Company (PoCC),Cormac Mac Coitir - Proprietor The Keen House and Keen on Sport, Eoin Mc Carthy - The Mauritania bar and John Gately - Managing Director - The Commodore Hotel celebrating the return of the first cruise ship to Cork harbour.

An overcast morning couldn’t rain on Cobh’s parade on Friday, as the historic seaport town welcomed back its first liner in two years.

The Borealis docked at Cobh Cruise Terminal at 10am, bringing 2,000 passengers and an electric buzz to the town that has been starved of the vital cruise tourist trade, which was eliminated by the pandemic.

While the town has enjoyed regular domestic tourist business, in particular on the brighter sunny days over the last two years, it represents just a fraction of the overall trade in the town. The liner is the first of dozens to visit this year, with many businesses keen to make up for lost time.

John Sweeney of Cobh and Harbour Chamber said the sight of the ship docked up opposite Cobh’s iconic stacks of colourful houses and towering Cathedral was “fantastic” after a “pretty dismal” two years.

The Port of Cork Company hopes to welcome approximately 90 cruise ships between April and November 2022.

“We've been starved of tourism in this town in the last two years, and it’s marvellous to see a day like today coming to fruition. There’s a lot of business done when the liners are here, and when they weren't here, it was as if the town was dead in a way,” he said.

Manager of the Waters Edge Hotel, Aga Ruttle, said that after years in the job, the huge liners parked alongside their seafront balcony become just part of the everyday scenery – but Friday’s arrival was special.

“We were all excited. When we arrived to work this morning, believe it or not, we were all on the balcony, literally waiting as if we’d never seen a liner before, even though we've seen hundreds,” she said.

There’s huge excitement, the phone is hopping, people are excited and it feels like it’s back to normal.

Eoin McCarthy, owner of Mauretania Bar, said they were delighted to see ship passengers calling in again.

“I can't emphasize how much of a pleasure it is when the cruise ships are in and you just have great craic with everyone. It's just great to have them back. For us, about 40% of our business is based off liner trade, so it’s just great, and it’s off the back of a tough two years without it,” he said.

 A visiting cruise liner and mild weather brought the crowds out to Cobh today, despite the overcast day. The town park was very busy. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Cormac Mac Coitir, owner of Keen House and Keen on Sport, which sells clothes and sportswear, said they look forward to welcoming back the familiar faces of cruise crews.

“For us, the crew are very often as important as the passengers. We’re looking forward to seeing people that we would have known on the cruise ships, that we built up relationships with. Crew and officers that would have been coming back on a regular basis, every six weeks, that we order things in for so they can collect them when they're in again,” he said.

“Exciting is definitely the word for today, after what’s been a crazy few years,” he added.

One of the true success stories in the town in recent years is the Titanic Experience, which draws tourists from all over Ireland. Sonia Joyce, director of the Titanic Experience and Tregan Craft Centre, said the return of the ships to Cobh still represents a "game-changer".

“The Irish really played a great part in keeping hospitality on its feet over the last two years, and we are so thankful for that, but it's a long year outside of just eight weeks of domestic tourism. The return of the ships gives us a whole new energy and focus and confidence that international tourism, in general, is on the comeback,” she said.

Having spent the week commemorating passengers who left Cobh this time 110 years ago on the Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage, Ms Joyce said it's been a “poignant and busy” couple of days.

The Borealis cruise ship departs Cobh at 5pm this evening, heading for Galway. Picture: Andy Gibson.

“Unfortunately, today [Friday] marks the actual sinking of the Titanic itself. So it's been a very poignant and busy couple of days for us. But then, the arrival of this cruise ship this morning has just given us such a boost of confidence, and created such excitement and vibrancy in the town,” she said.

The Borealis is the first of 90 ships set to cruise into Cork Harbour this season, a tourist trade that’s worth up to €17m to Cork’s economy.

Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer of the Port of Cork, echoed the sentiments of everyone in Cobh on Friday, saying it's “hugely exciting” to see the cruise trade return to Cork.

“Covid has been difficult for everyone, but the complete loss of cruise was quite stark, particularly for the companies that are solely focused on supporting cruise activity, it was very difficult for them to lose their business for two years off a cliff,” he said.

“Even while the tourism industry came back last year with staycations, we didn't see return of cruise, and so it’s been two whole years without that activity and that revenue for the local economy. So we’re excited and relieved about it coming back,” he added.