The first cruise ship of the season arrived at Invergordon yesterday – leading the way for more than 50 liners which are due to visit before the end of the season.
The Easter Ross port – recently named best in Scotland for cruisers in a UK-wide study – welcomed the 577ft-long Marco Polo at the Admirality Pier yesterday morning amid sunshine and calm seas.
The 770 passengers are on a nine-day cruise around the UK from Tilbury, Essex, and Invergordon is their first port of call.
Matthew Agg, of operators Cruise and Maritime Voyages, said: “We sailed from Tilbury two days ago and we leave tonight and call at Stornoway, Tobermory, the Isles of Scilly, and the Channel Islands, then head back on Sunday.
“It’s a pretty traditional British Isles cruise. A lot of our guests are from the south and haven’t visited this part of Scotland.
“Calling into Invergordon means they can visit Loch Ness and of course Inverness itself is also very important to us. Today we’ve got tours to Culloden and to Dunrobin Castle.”
He said Invergordon was always very welcoming. “The town itself is obviously pretty small but the guests have a good look around and the museum, gift shop and cafeteria are always quite busy,” he said.
“It’s very convenient because it’s a nice easy walk into town.”
Captain Iain Dunderdale, cruise development manager for Cruise Highlands, a joint venture between Cromarty Firth Port Authority and Bannerman’s of Tain which owns the Admiralty Pier, said the Marco Polo was due to make two more calls later in the year.
In total 56 cruise ship visits are expected by the end of September.
A study by industry body Cruise Britain showed the Easter Ross port handled 89,770 transit passengers last year, third only to Guernsey and Dover.