Warrenpoint welcomes first cruise ship since 2017

The seaside town of Warrenpoint, County Down, has welcomed the first cruise ship to dock at its port in five years in a bid to revive tourism in the area.

The World Navigator is carrying US tourists on a 13-night cruise around parts of the UK and Ireland.

It docked shortly before 08:00 BST and will spend just 12 hours in the town.

Michael Savage, chairman of Newry, Mourne and Down Council, hailed it as a "welcome economic boost to the local tourism industry".

The ship, which is operated by Atlas Ocean Voyages, had been due to make the journey back in 2020 but that had to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

'Shame about the weather'

Carlingford Lough is renowned for its scenery but the views were obscured by low cloud and driving rain as the ship sailed up into Warrenpoint on Tuesday morning.

Warrenpoint, seen from the Flagstaff view point on a clearer day

Cloud and rain obscured the visitors' view of Narrow Water and Carlingford Lough on Tuesday

"They must wonder why they're there," laughs Bill Reilly from the community group, Friends of Warrenpoint Park.

He told BBC News NI a "raging torrent" had greeted the visitors but he still ventured out personally to take photos of the ship and said he was pleased to see a revived attempt to promote the region as a cruise destination.

Passengers were given the option to visit the town itself or take tours to Castle Ward in County Down, Navan Fort in Armagh or the village of Carlingford in County Louth.

It is understood only the Castle Ward tour offer was taken up, but a number of passengers expressed an interest in disembarking and exploring Warrenpoint if the weather improved.

A group of Irish dancers were brought on board to perform for the visitors, according to the council.

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The World Navigator is the first of three cruise ships due to visit Warrenpoint this year, with the next scheduled to arrive in August according to a firm involved in organising the stop-offs.

"This has been the culmination of a lot of work with the cruise lines to promote Warrenpoint as a cruise port," said Leo McParland from Hamilton Shipping.

"We had some [port] calls booked for 2020 but obviously the pandemic put paid to that, so we worked hard to get more calls in.

"We have three this year and we've already got two booked in for next year."

Warrenpoint Port is Northern Ireland's second-largest port

David Holmes, chief executive officer of Warrenpoint Port, told BBC Radio Ulster the visit was a significant day for his organisation.

"We're absolutely delighted to welcome the World Navigator and to welcome a cruise ship back," he said.

"It's exciting for the town, it's exciting for local tourism and it's just a little bit of a shame about the weather."

Cruise ships have been docking occasionally in Warrenpoint since 2014 and Mr Reilly was involved in hosting events to welcome the first cruise passengers eight years ago.

Back then, local residents dressed up in period costumes and staged short performances around the town to give visitors a taste of the history and legends associated with Warrenpoint and the Carlingford Lough area.

Mr Reilly told BBC News NI that although it was "great to see a ship coming up the lough again", he feared many passengers might be taken out of the town by being directed on to the "usual tour buses" linked to Game of Thrones filming locations.

He questioned the economic benefits of that approach for Warrenpoint businesses.

"We absolutely welcome [the ship] but we need to more proactive," he said.

The community activist called for more to be done to attract visitors and to entertain tourists of all ages when they come to Warrenpoint.