New member: Dun Laoghaire

Dun Laoghaire Harbour (DLH) is experiencing a change in focus from ferry to cruise port. Its first cruiseship called in 2012 with this year being the busiest to date with 22 calls scheduled including those from P&O Cruises’ newbuilding Britannia, Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2, Windstar Cruises' Star Legend (two calls) and Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess (nine calls). MSC Cruises’ MSC Splendida (three calls) is the first to call on May 11 2015 with the last call being on September 18.

About 100,000 passengers and crew will pass through the port which is currently a tender port. However DLH is in the planning stages of developing a cruise berth to develop the harbour’s potential as an Irish cruise destination. It will have a minimum depth of 10m and be capable of handling cruiseships up to 340m long.

A full planning application and Environmental Impact Statement is currently being finalised and is due for submission to the planning authority in the next couple of months. Subject to receipt of planning approval this year, the facility should be operational for the 2017 cruise season.

The harbour is almost 200 years old and was formerly a major port of entry to Britain. There are now two quays both with a depth of 5.7m. Berth 1 is 140m in length and Berth 3 130m.

The tourist office is 100m from the quayside on Marine Road. It offers a wide range of water-based, historical points of interest, bike rental and a variety of tours in Dublin and neighbouring County Wicklow (also known as the garden of Ireland). The Glendalough Medieval Monastic Settlement and Avoca Hand weavers are found in Wicklow. The top three excursions are the National Maritime Museum, James Joyce Museum and Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre.

There is currently no shuttle bus service but the Dublin Area Rapid Transport (Dart) train line takes just 20 minutes to Dublin City centre which is 12km away. There is also a bus terminus at the train station with a regular service of buses to the city centre. A taxi rank is located close to the Tourist Office.