First cruise ship welcomed to Ramsey Bay as result of poor weather

The luxury liner was meant to visit Douglas

A cruise ship has called at a town in the north of the Isle of Man for the first time as a result of bad weather.

Poor conditions meant the luxury liner Europa 2 could not visit Douglas as planned, so it was rerouted to Ramsey.

Passengers who went ashore were given the chance to visit the town's Grove Museum and historic gardens.

Steven Bevan from Ramsey Commissioners said the vessel had been a "welcome visitor" and extra footfall in the town was "very encouraging".

He said it was "fantastic" the cruise company Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and the local agent Cruise Isle of Man were able to work with various parties to "keep passengers coming to the Isle of Man".

They were able to reorganise tenders and tours at short notice as there had been "very many passengers who were looking forward to visiting", he said.

Cruise Isle of Man also praised the Manx operators who created a revised tour, which had a greater focus on attractions in the north.

The Europa 2 liner can carry up to 500 passengers

About 500 passengers can travel on board the vessel at capacity, although it is not known how many came ashore in the town.

The ship, which is 738ft long (225m), anchored off the north coast at around 11:00 BST and was due to stay for eight hours.

Mr Bevan said the authority was excited about the prospect of future visits, but said he understood there would be limitations for cruise companies due to the tidal conditions in the harbour and vessel sizes.

"We would obviously welcome them coming again, and we're looking forward to talking to them about that in the future", he added.

A record number of fifty-nine vessels are due to visit Isle of Man in the 2023 season, the Department for Enterprise confirmed earlier this year.

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