Entering beautiful Cork Harbour with Roches Point to starboard and the sailing mecca of Crosshaven to port is one of the especially memorable experiences of a Northern European cruise. A short distance inside the harbour’s entrance the historic town of Cobh looms into view, with its wonderfully colourful dwellings and imposing hilltop cathedral seeming to reach out in welcome to the visiting cruise passenger.
The affinity between the townspeople and seaborne visitors undoubtedly has its roots in the town’s emigrant heritage and is readily apparent to this day. Over a period of a century and a half from the early 1800’s an astonishing 2.5 million people arrived in Cobh from all parts of largely poverty stricken Ireland on the first stage of a journey taking them to new lives in North America and other far flung countries. Throughout that era the Port of Cork was a major transatlantic liner port playing host to ships owned and operated by the major shipping lines of the day. Much of this legacy is recaptured at the Cobh Heritage Centre located in the old railway station adjoining Cobh Cruise Terminal. While today some of the 40 million North American residents who claim Irish ancestry return on cruises to trace their roots, most cruise passengers come to experience at first hand the welcoming and hospitable Irish people in their friendly vibrant environment.
The vast majority of approximately 54 cruise ships which visit the Port of Cork annually berth at Cobh. Uniquely among major Irish cruise ports, Cobh Cruise Terminal - Ireland’s only dedicated cruise terminal - can accommodate vessels up to 350m in overall length at any stage of the tide – a vital consideration for many cruise lines at a time when their newer and bigger ships are presenting challenges for many European ports. Ringaskiddy Deepwater Terminal provides an excellent alternative to the Cobh terminal and can accommodate even larger vessels, with the added advantage of water depth of 13.4m alongside at low water. For shallower vessels less than 152m in overall length, there is the attractive alternative of proceeding directly to the heart of beautiful Cork city, European Capital of Culture in 2005.
The Port of Cork offers the cruise passenger an exceptional range of individually designed shore excursions ranging from those suitable for large numbers of passengers to those catering for small groups with specialty interests e.g. gardening, golf, sailing, deep-sea fishing etc. In addition to the highly acclaimed attractions of Cork city, other shore excursion options incorporate some of the country’s most popular visitor attractions e.g. Blarney Castle and Woollen Mills, the spectacular Lakes of Killarney and the Waterford Crystal Factory Tour. Increasingly popular shore excursions consist of visits to Kinsale, – acknowledged by many visitors as Ireland’s gourmet capital - the compellingly striking countryside of West Cork and a tour of the Jameson Heritage Centre in Midleton, home of whiskey distilling in Ireland.
