CRUISE SHIPS
Mayor & Mayoress prepare to board MV Minerva from Pilgrim of Brixham
our town. each faction within the cruise group brings its own skills. The BID’s imagination and marketing contacts has given us focus on how to present ourselves to an industry that is spoiled for choice. The TIc’s local knowledge transforms arrival days and their work to establish a pre-travel cruise page online has led to cruise passengers contacting them for info and ideas, before they even leave on their trip. Back at the Dart harbour authority, the emphasis is on understanding the complex and sometimes mysterious ways of the cruise industry and forging strong and lasting bonds, a task that continues 12 months a year. It’s a learning curve that has been willingly grasped by the authority - keen as it is, to ensure cruise ship numbers rise. In addition, a long time before each vessel arrives, there is a continuous exchange of emails about the ship’s requirements and as a result, many decisions to be made. all this is rounded off by our mayor and mayoress who became the major hit of last season. cruise guests could not get enough of them, especially when joined by the Town crier and his wife, liz. It was a sight to behold. Dartmouth is often the final day of a cruise and the words we heard most in 2014 were ‘ well, they kept the best until last!’ 2015 will see the arrival of 4 ships
Hebridean Princess
over a three month period, bringing old and new friends. The German market, always a strong presence in south West waters, had shown confidence in our port by booking four slots over the summer - although disappointingly, we have just heard of a cancellation because of the liquidation of one cruise company. But three remain and sea cloud 2 will be returning. luckily, we are up to the challenge as the Tourist Information centre managers explain ‘ Our volunteers with foreign language speaking skills meet and greet the passengers on the Town Jetty, giving
Above: Men Behaving Tradly entertain arriving passengers
them specific information as well as the Dartmouth Guide & By The Dart map, to ensure that they have the tools to both enjoy and make the most of their stay’. last year, the Brnc also lent a hand by providing a German national flag to drape on the jetty to make the welcome more personal. The jewel in the programme’s crown this year will
be the arrival of the hebridean princess, truly the most well - heeled vessel, best known as the only cruise ship to be chartered by the royal Family. carrying a mere 50 pampered guests, her proportions mean that she will be able to moor mid - river. Don’t be deceived by the her external appearance ( she was once a scottish ferry ) hebridean princess is the hallmark of exclusive cruising, with a retro country house feel. all arrival details can be found at
www.dartharbour.org and at www.
dartmoutheverytime.co.uk. We now know our cruise companies - who stands
for what - and the type of guests on board, so we feel that overall, we are in a good place to give this project our best shot but we know that we need to keep on our toes. as our aim is to get more trade into town, it would be such a boost to see more and more businesses backing our efforts, simply by posting ‘welcome’ notices in their windows on cruise days. Industry figures indicate that spend per head can be around £85- and for every 4 passengers arriving, there will be 1 crew member coming onshore to stock up on basic needs. With the industry now looking
beyond 2016, there are no instantaneous results. We have to approach everything we do, in the knowledge that this is about the long run and with some faith that what we are doing right now, will pay off and bring benefits to our unique town.•
Town Crier on board MV Azamara Journey
Photo top left of opposite page by Nick Sheperd
www.southdevonphotos.co.uk
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