Greenock welcomes one of the world's largest cruise ships
The MSC Virtuosa arrived this morning with over 4000 passengers on board
One of the world’s largest cruise ships has paid a visit to Greenock Ocean Terminal today.
The whopping 330m long MSC Virtuosa berthed with 4000 passengers on board this morning.
The 19 deck ship hosts more than 2,400 cabins, and contains five swimming pools, a waterpark, and a promenade of restaurants.
It was the first ever double turn around for the port too, with passengers also boarding luxury vessel Le Champlain, who was carrying an additional 140 guests.
Clydeport Port Director at Peel Ports, Jim McSporran said: “It’s always a pleasure welcoming any of our cruise ships to Greenock, and liners don’t get much more eye-catching than the MSC Virtuosa and Le Champlain.
“It’s lovely to be welcoming so many to the terminal today and comes on the back of us recently announcing a record year for the most liners visiting us in one season.”
The liner will depart this evening to continue the Northern European leg of its journey, before carrying on to Barcelona, Malaga and Toulon later in the summer.
The MSC Virtuosa previously set a record as the largest ever vessel to sail into Inverclyde when it arrived on its maiden trip in 2021, but it had a much-reduced capacity due to the Covid pandemic.
The port operator previously announced it was set to experience its busiest year since records began – with 91 cruise liners booked into the Inverclyde town’s new dedicated pontoon across 2023 – a rise of over 25 per cent on last year.
As many as 150,000 passengers and 38,000 crew members are expected to pass through the port over the course of this year.
The ship’s arrival comes ahead of the completion of a new £19.2million cruise ship visitor centre later this year at the terminal.
Leader of Inverclyde Council Councillor, Stephen McCabe said: “We really are on the crest of a wave with yet more ship and passenger records being broken this year as we work alongside Peel Ports and our other partners to grow Greenock and Inverclyde as a premier cruise destination.”
He added: “A key component of that is the new visitor centre which will be opening soon to complement the dedicated cruise ship berth which is already successfully up and running.”
The project, led by Inverclyde Council, is part of the £1 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal funded by the Scottish and UK governments.