Castletownbere welcomes its first ever cruise liner and guests get a tour inside

WEST Cork’s cruise tourism season began with the people of Castletownbere turning out to welcome a stylish expedition ship on its maiden voyage.

The Sylvia Earle, a beautiful new ship operated by Aurora Expeditions, anchored in the port for a day and more than 40 passengers came ashore.

It was the first ever visit of a cruise ship to Castletownbere and the guests were given a warm welcome ashore with a display of Irish dancing, followed by a visit to Bere Island.

Return tenders brought 20 local tourism and business leaders out to the vessel. There, they were greeted with a champagne reception, and given a tour of the 340 ft vessel, which comes with 74 state rooms.

Called after Sylvia Earle, who was Time Magazine’s first Hero for the Planet in 1998, the vessel pays tribute to her long-standing conservation efforts to protect marine and ocean wildlife.

The Sylvia Earle primarily offers Antarctic and Arctic cruises, but on this, its maiden voyage, it was completing a 15-day cruise around Ireland and Scotland.

As John Kirkwood, head of its expedition team, explained: ‘The Norwegian-designed vessel has a range of facilities to educate all of its guests about the history, culture, biology, and climate change of the polar regions, and the places it visits.’

Among the invited guests on the quay in Castletownbere were Independent TD Michael Collins and Cllrs Caroline Cronin (FG) and Ross O’Connell (SD), who extended a ‘céad míle fáilte’ to the visitors.

Cllrs Ross O'Connell (SD) and Caroline Cronin (FG) on board the Sylvia Earle.

Jim O’Sullivan of Beara Tourism and Donal Kelly, chairman of Castletownbere Development Association, were also among the guests. They welcomed the docking of the cruise ship as ‘a new opportunity for Castletownbere.

‘Castletownbere is changing,’ said Mr O’Sullivan. ‘Due to Brexit our fishing industry has been reduced so we have to look at all marine tourism.’

They welcomed the fact that the Department of Marine had opened up the port for cruise liners and that there is a brand new pier. However, Mr Kelly said: ‘There are a few issues that have to be sorted out before we can get them to the pier.’

He was referring to the entrance at the breakwater, which is too narrow for cruise ships due to the presence of two large pylons.

Both he and Mr Kelly believe it is possible to widen the entrance to allow cruise ships dock at the pier simply by removing one or both of the pylons.

Harbour master Martin Mylotte described the arrival of the first cruise liner in Castletownbere as being ‘very significant’ because it will promote tourism on the Beara Peninsula.

‘The arrival of cruise ships highlights the amenities and attractions in Castletownbere,’ said the harbour master, who was involved the logistics in what is mainly a fishery port, with up to 70 fishing vessels arriving each week.

Dr Fiona Kelly made a presentation to the captain of Sylvia Earle.

‘A vessel of this size is nothing new to us,’ he said. ‘We have larger cargo and fishing vessels coming in as well, but that all runs quite smoothly.’

Mr Mylotte said authentic visitor experiences, and activities, are what people are requesting on cruises.

‘People want to see something different,’ he said, ‘they want to see something that not everyone else sees.’

Castletownbere GP Dr Fiona Kelly was part of the group of locals who visited the ship and she was given the task of making a presentation to the captain on behalf of Beara Tourism.

Meanwhile, Bantry played host to the inaugural visit of the Seabourn Ovation and is looking forward to a further 11 visits during the season.

In total, West Cork will receive 20 cruise ships this year, representing a potential 8,300 cruise visitors to the region.

The figure is significantly higher than the figures for 2019 when 12 cruise ships and 6,400 passengers visited.