NOBLE Caledonia’s Ocean Nova cruise ship sailed into Derry today, bringing an exclusive group of passengers and crew to explore the city and region as part of their ‘Bird Watch’ cruise, an exploration of the seabird islands of the UK & Ireland.
The expedition-style small ship specialises in offering its passengers a truly unique experience by visiting the ‘hidden gems’ such as Derry~Londonderry.
This unusual expedition cruise offers passengers the opportunity to observe indigenous seabird and marine life and will include a visit to the Inch Wildfowl Reserve as well as the 17th Walled city of Derry and the Giant’s Causeway.
The 11 day cruise set sail from Oban, Scotland and will also include visits to St Kilda, Iona, Isles of Scilly, Guernsey and Alderney, finishing in Portsmouth.
The Ocean Nova is the first of 3 calls from Noble Caledonia this season which will welcome 9 cruise ships and attract over 4,000 passengers and crew from leading lines including Seabourne, Princess and Silverseas.
Aoife McHale, Business & Leisure Tourism Officer at Visit Derry commented “We are delighted the Ocean Nova is returning to the city as our first call of 2017 and look forward to welcoming our passengers ashore this season.
“Visit Derry and Foyle Port, in partnership with Derry City & Strabane District Council and the Loughs Agency promote the city as a must visit cruise destination and the continued development of our cultural tourism offering allows us to create a wide range of new programme itineraries to offer an authentic and memorable experience for passengers.
“Since the start of the year we have attended the Seatrade Cruise Exhibition in Fort Lauderdale and the Cruise Europe annual conference in Bremerhaven to meet with the industry’s major cruise lines and update them on the regions berthing options and developments.
“The city’s rich heritage, fascinating history and warm welcome combined with our idyllic location linking Co. Donegal and the Wild Atlantic Way with the Causeway Coastal Route is of major interest to the operators and has already resulted in confirmed business for 2018 and 2019”.
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