A new website of interest to shipping enthusiasts and those with an interest in the Cruise Liners visiting Cobh has just been launched by Cobh Tourism. Entitled www.linersincobh.com the website contains a photo and interesting snippets of information on each of the Cruise ships scheduled to visit Cork in 2009. “The Independence of the Seas and the QE2 really captured the public’s imagination in 2008”, commented the chairman of Cobh Tourism, Hendrick Verwey. “Thirty thousand people came to Cobh over two days in May 2008 to see the largest liner in the World, the Independence of the Seas on her first visit to Cobh. The QE2 caused a mini sensation of its own when it called on its farewell voyage of the British Isles in October.”

Picture © Cobh Tourism

People’s interest in the ships and willingness to come to Cobh to see them, encouraged Cobh Tourism to design the website. The information presented is varied and comes from research from a number of sources on each of the ships that make up the 54 scheduled Cruise Liner visits to the Port of Cork in 2009. For example the Bremen has a library with twelve bookcases but the books are mostly in German, the AIDAcara has red lips painted on its bow and has an impressively long bar at 162 feet and the Spirit of Adventure carries bicycles so that her passengers can explore the hills of Cobh by pedal power! The most interesting fact to be discovered is that when the Dawn Princess visits Cobh on 23 rd August next it will be mid way through a 104 night World Cruise that begins and ends in Sydney. There will be close to 2000 mainly Australian passengers on board, giving Cobh Tourism a rare opportunity to organise an Australian themed day full of festivities. The website has the most recent Cruise Liner List so that people will always know when the next liner is due and at what time it will sail. The Brass Band send-off is as popular with Cobh residents and visitors to the town as it is with the passengers. With this website at your fingertips you need never miss hearing the strains of “Anchor’s Aweigh” as another Cruise Liner glides into the channel of the River Lee as her passengers enjoy a fond farewell.