The Port of Aberdeen has welcomed the largest ship in its entire history as a gargantuan cruise liner docked on its way to Edinburgh.
The Costa Favolosa was built in Genoa at a cost of €510m, for the Italian operator Costa Crociere.
It is 290m long, has 13 decks and weighs 113,307 gross tonnes and can carry up to 3,800 passengers in 1,506 cabins.
The Costa Favolosa made headlines at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic as it was out at sea when a number of passengers tested positive for the virus.
The ship docked off the coast of Miami, Florida to disembark sick crew members and passengers for "life-critical" medical care but was not allowed to enter the port.
Read More:
-
British Airways to fund training for 200 pilots in latest recruitment drive
-
-
Caledonian Sleeper launches photography competition celebrating UK beauty spots
The Costa Favolosa docked at the Port of Aberdeen on Friday, the biggest ever to do so in the 888 year history of the port.
The 4,000 guests and crew received a welcome from the Robert Gordon College Pipe Band, Alba Bagpipes, and VisitAberdeenshire’s ‘Welcome to Aberdeenshire’ volunteers.
There have been 60 visits by cruise ships to the port this season, up more than 150% from 2022.
Bob Sanguinetti, CEO, Port of Aberdeen said: “We are delighted to welcome the Costa Favolosa, its guests and crew to Aberdeen. This is the latest demonstration of how we’re driving diversification in energy, trade and tourism with our expanded infrastructure. Activity levels at South Harbour have exceeded expectations, as we compete for a new scale of opportunities with prospective and existing customers.
“As the UK’s oldest existing business, we know what it means to adapt and rise to the challenges of tomorrow. Together, in partnership with government and industry, we can drive sustainable economic growth and energy transition.”
Chris Foy, CEO, VisitAberdeenshire, said: “The increase in calls for the 2024/25 season is further evidence of the region’s growing reputation as a quality destination for cruise operators.”
Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is literally the biggest piece of evidence yet that the investment by Port of Aberdeen in the world class South Harbour facility and the work over the last few years by Team Aberdeen is seeing us established as a calling point of choice for UK and Northern European cruise operators. We are already welcoming tens of thousands of new visitors to the region every year as a result and this will grow exponentially by the end of the decade.”
Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Christian Allard said: “The arrival of the Costa Favolosa underlines Aberdeen’s growing importance as a cruise ship destination. Our city is being transformed – and both tourists and local businesses are enjoying the benefits.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel