A record 151 cruise vessels are scheduled to dock in Belfast in 2019, bringing with them nearly 300,000 passengers.
The partnership between Belfast Harbour and Visit Belfast, Cruise Belfast, announced details of the most successful season to date, with ~285,000 travelers expected and ship numbers up 31% on the previous season.
July will be the busiest month with 32 vessels scheduled to visit, including Saga UK's first newbuild - Spirit of Discovery. Other first-time visitors to Belfast UK include CMV Vasco da Gama and Disney Magic.
35 separate cruise lines are due to dock at Belfast Harbour, with CMV and Princess Cruises the most frequent callers.
Costa Cruises will also visit the port of Belfast for the first time (with Costa Mediterranea). The number of Celebrity Cruises' calls will double to 8. NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line is expanding its Belfast schedule from just 1 visit in 2018 to 11 in 2019.
The largest ship due to dock is the 125,000GT Celebrity Reflection.
The first arrival in Belfast is the Astoria ship on March 12, 2019, while Ocean Dream will sail from the port on October 30, concluding a successful season for cruise tourism in the north.