MSC Meraviglia called at the Scottish port alongside Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' Europa 2
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Scotland’s port of Lerwick welcomed its largest-ever cruise ship, MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia, on 31 July 2018.
At 316 metres long and 171,598gt, MSC Meraviglia is larger than the previous record-holder, which was Celebrity Cruises’ 122,210gt Celebrity Silhouette. She arrived with 5,092 passengers – the most yet on a single ship at Lerwick – and more than 1,500 crew. The passengers will be transferred ashore by tenders.
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2, which first visited in 2017, also called at Lerwick while MSC Meraviglia was in port. Berthing at Mair’s Pier East, the ship arrived carrying 512 passengers and more than 370 crew.
Together, the vessels brought around 7,500 visitors to Lerwick – the same number as the town’s total population – making it the busiest day in the port’s history. Coincidentally, both of the Malta-registered vessels were on roundtrips from Hamburg, Germany and headed for Reykjavik, Iceland after departing Lerwick.
“We have had more ships on a single day, but with almost 7,500 passengers and crew and subject to the weather holding, it will be the busiest cruise day yet for Lerwick – population around 7,500,” said Victor Sandison, Lerwick Port Authority’s senior commercial executive. “Our involvement with the cruise sector just keeps getting bigger and better, with larger vessels and higher numbers. This season, we expect to welcome 93 ships and approaching 93,000 passengers in an all-round record year, with 119 vessels, bringing an anticipated 110,000 passengers, already booked for 2019.”