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St Josephs Primary School, Slate Street, Belfast

MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in Belfast - see inside the biggest to ever come to Northern Ireland

27th Sep 2019

The ship docked in Belfast at 5am on Thursday with nearly 6,000 people on board.

The boss of the largest cruise ship to come to Northern Ireland plans to allow passengers to embark in Belfast in the future.

Antonio Paradiso, the managing director of MSC Cruises in Ireland and the UK, said boarding the huge fleet of ships in Belfast is being considered now. 

At the moment passengers have to travel to Southampton in England or Europe to embark the ships but as soon as more cruises visit Belfast as planned, cabins will be allocated for travellers to step on board from East Belfast.

Mr Paradiso explained: "We are evaluating the situation now and of course it goes hand in hand with the popularity of our brand and experience here in Northern Ireland.

"We started to tell people about this country about four years ago and our business has gone from strength to strength.

MSC Meraviglia Facts

  • Passengers: 5,714
  • Cabins: 2,250 cabins
  • Length: 1,033 feet long
  • Width: 141 feet wide
  • Weight: 167,600 tonnes
  • Cost: £4 billion
  • Superstition: No deck 17

"We are currently boarding from several ports in England and Scotland and Belfast is definitely an option, so when we have more regular calls, such as back-to-back cruises we will also have a small allocation of cabins in Belfast which I think the people from Belfast and further afield in Northern Ireland will appreciate."

Source: Belfastlive