4 days ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Massive cruise ship with 2,000 passengers docks at Fishguard
The 71,304 tonne AIDAsol arrived in Fishguard Harbour this morning, bringing with her 2,174 mainly German passengers to Pembrokeshire.
The AIDAsol is currently on a nine-day cruise of Britain and Ireland.
She left Hamburg on May 30 and sailed to Portsmouth and Falmouth before setting sail for Ireland, calling at Cork and Dubin.
She has now sailed across the Irish Sea to Fishguard. This afternoon she will leave for Portland before returning to Hamburg for June 8.
She arrived in port at 6.30 this morning and will depart at around 3.30 this afternoon.
Passengers arriving at Fishguard Port were greeted by the award-winning Fishguard Friendly Faces who gave out goodie bags, Welsh cakes, their winning smiles and loads of advice on local attractions.
To add to the warm Welsh welcome, entertainment quayside was provided by local musicians.
Some passengers will have departed on coach trips to local attractions such as St Davids Cathedral, Carew Castle and Tenby.
However, many more will be taking advantage of the free shuttle bus from the harbour into Fishguard to enjoy the local shops and eateries.
This is the second Aida Cruises ship to dock in Fishguard this year, with the AIDAluna making her first visit to Fishguard in mid May.
The AIDAsol is operated by Aida Cruises, was built in 2011, has 14 decks and was christened by Bettina Zwicker.
It sails under the Italian flag and cost approximately $420 million US Dollars to build in 2011.
The cruise ship spans across 14 decks and can carry a maximum of 2686 passengers and 609 crew members.
The AIDAsol will return to Fishguard twice more this season; on July 17 and towards the end of the season on September 29.
The next cruise ship to call into Fishguard will be the Corinthian on June 6.
