It’s welcome news for Cork tourism.

The Port of Cork Company (PoCC) and Cruise Ireland have announced the return of cruise ships following a two-year pause during the pandemic.

Ireland will finally reopen again for cruise liners and passengers with the arrival of the MV ‘Viking Venus’ to Dún Laoghaire Harbour on March 29th.

The Port of Cork Company hopes to welcome a return to almost pre-pandemic levels of cruise calls with around 90 cruise ships scheduled between April and November 2022 – the first of which will be the ‘Borealis’ cruise ship.

The Borealis is due to dock in Cobh, Ireland’s only dedicated cruise berth, from the UK on Good Friday, April 15th.

The cruise liner industry is estimated to contribute €70 million to the national economy and on average €14 million per year to local economies such as Cork, which pre-Covid had typically welcomed on average 100 cruise ships per year.

“Today’s announcement follows weeks and months of intense collaboration with stakeholders such as the Department of Transport and the HSE to ensure we have robust protocols in place to protect and ensure confidence for not only passengers but our receiving harbour communities,” said Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer with Port of Cork Company and Chairperson of Cruise Ireland.

“We are looking forward very much to the return of cruise activities, to rebuilding and growing the cruise line sector, which has such a crucial role to play for the country’s tourism and the hospitality industries.”