A quartet of cruise ships arrived in Lerwick Harbour today (Friday 21 June 2019).
In an early morning rush, Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ Astor arrived from Bremerhaven, Germany, P&O’s Oriana from Torshavn, Faroe, and Holland American Line’s Zuiderdam from Reykjavik, Iceland, all before 10am, with Windstar Cruises Star Breeze arriving at lunchtime from Aalesund, Norway.
Carrying 4,200 passengers on board the four vessels, Astor and Star Breeze berthed at Mair’s Pier East and Holmsgarth 5 respectively, with Oriana and Zuiderdam at anchor. Astor will depart for Akureyri, Iceland, with the others heading for Scottish ports.
It is the second time this season Lerwick has attracted four-in-a-day, with a quartet of small cruise vessels in port a few weeks ago.
Lerwick Port Authority Cruise Manager, Melanie Henderson, said: “Single-ship visits are still the norm, but there are, increasingly, days when more than one are booked. In addition to the four today, there are 26 days this season with two or more cruise vessels, out of the 83 days when ships are scheduled.
“It is unusual to have four ships in one day, although we do have the capacity to handle multiple calls simultaneously, both alongside and at anchor, which is complemented by highly-developed shore-side and welcome services, with an expanded network of visitor attractions.”
Shetland was named recently in travel authority Lonely Planet’s latest top ten of must-see European destinations for 2019, the only UK location included.
The 11 maiden cruise visits expected at Lerwick in 2019 include MSC Preziosa, the largest of the year at 139,072 gross tonnes and capacity for over 3,500 passengers due on 25 July, and Queen Victoria, the first Cunard vessel to visit Lerwick, on 31 July. A record-breaking 106 cruise ships are scheduled to visit this season.
Some more photos from today by Shetland Flyer Aerial Media:
