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David Knight: Will Aberdeen cruise ships be a gravy train for the city?

Cruise ships might put Aberdeen firmly on the world travel map, but how much money will visitors actually spend in the Granite City?

Around 25 cruises are expected to stop off in Aberdeen this year (Image: Denis Belitsky/Shutterstock)
Around 25 cruises are expected to stop off in Aberdeen this year (Image: Denis Belitsky/Shutterstock)

Cruise ships might put Aberdeen firmly on the world travel map, writes David Knight, but how much money will visitors actually spend in the Granite City?

A tannoy crackled into life as the skipper greeted us in his usual urbane fashion while preparing to guide our ship out of port towards the next cruise destination. Even though there was a Russian warship behind us.

But that didn’t fluster him, as we reversed out of Corfu harbour, edging past it gingerly. We stared at its guns; I wonder how we would have greeted it these days.

Our captain would often end his morning update with a cheery: “Light airs everybody, light airs.” It was, indeed, quite calm as we bobbed about the Mediterranean and Adriatic in late summer.

I wondered if “light airs” was just his idiosyncratic expression. But I discovered it really was a thing, indicating low wind speed and if a spinnaker was required to be run up to chivvy a sailboat along. We had great big engines, so it really didn’t matter.

Yes, I’m just a landlubber; I don’t know what I am talking about.

Like the time I cornered our skipper after he announced, in a rather matter-of-fact manner for my taste, that he was switching our engines off. We were ahead of schedule, so we would just drift through the night.

I didn’t like this at all, as I still broke into a sweat whenever thinking about the horrors of learning The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at school.

Our captain looked slightly ruffled in the finery of his naval dress uniform as I interrogated him about the procedure at a cocktail party. He reassured me soothingly, even though I didn’t understand a word he said; it was all very nautical.

Where would we be these days without a nautical expression or two from centuries ago? Batten down the hatches, allowing leeway, on the right or wrong tack, in the offing…

Is Aberdeen a magnetic attraction for visitors?

We might be lucky to see cruise ships starting to arrive at Aberdeen’s new south dock in a few weeks. I saw a P&J report with official predictions of around 25 cruise visits this year.

It puts Aberdeen firmly on the world travel map, but the development provoked a wave of debate over how much money cruise visitors would actually spend in the Granite City. Official figures claimed £134 a head, but some were sceptical that the figure would be that high.

I think it’s fair to say that some passengers might mooch around the streets, but most will go on fancy excursions. So, how much will end up in city traders’ pockets, when passengers are expected to sail past, as it were, and go elsewhere in the north-east: Balmoral, whisky trail, castles, golfing and so on?

All good stuff for the regional economy, but is Aberdeen a magnetic attraction for foreign visitors? It should be, of course, with its striking architecture and history.

The newly refurbished Union Terrace Gardens should be a draw for tourists (Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson)

A jewel in the crown used to be the grand thoroughfare that is Union Street. Now, a sad shadow of past grandeur; a tarnished piece of silver.

An excursion won’t stop there, unless they want a coffee or lager, to buy a burger or help a beggar.

Union Terrace Gardens – refurbished at a cost of £30 million – stretches out nearby, or maybe languishes in the doldrums, if you think it was a waste of public money. Would travellers return home like Marco Polo from Mongolia and tell extraordinary tales of the wonders of UTG?

Aberdeen on the navigational charts as a cruise gateway is a status symbol; surely better to have than not?

I think that was the original ambition behind Sir Ian Wood’s visionary idea years ago, which was unceremoniously dumped and replaced by the city council, despite winning majority public approval. Now it resembles the most expensive municipal play park in the UK.

We have to hope it beds in and is put to good use, but, in the meantime, it’s best to view the gardens at night, bathed in soft lights and shadow.

The Granite City deserves to be explored

Aberdeen on the navigational charts as a cruise gateway is a status symbol; surely better to have than not? Tourist bosses reckon that most passengers go on excursions, but about a third stay on board.

In my limited, two-cruise experience, I agree that it felt as though 75% went off on coaches and left the port behind. But, as a couple, we always made a point of exploring on our own and seeking out lunch in local streets. I hope more do that in Aberdeen.

I did once stay on board for several days, but only to hide from the ship’s doctor, who was thinking of flying me off with a thigh injury. I had fallen over while escaping the friendly but overzealous clutches of street traders in Tangier.

Cruises are making a big comeback. Hardly a day goes by without Saga badgering me to go on a Rhine river cruise. It was Tuesday, but they said I had to book by Friday for a £300 discount. Not much leeway there.


David Knight is the long-serving former deputy editor of The Press and Journal

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