Dublin is Ireland's largest port and the country's capital city. It is located on the east coast (facing Irish Sea) at the head of a big crescent-shaped bay, sheltered on its southern side by Wicklow Mountains. The city occupies a flat site, bisected west to east by River Liffey.
Many of the historic edifices of Dublin are in the old section of the town, south of Liffey such as the 16th-century Dublin Castle, Protestant cathedral of Christ Church (1038), the Gothic Saint Patrick's Cathedral (1190). Among other striking buildings of Dublin are Trinity College (1592), the Bank of Ireland building (1794, and the old seat of Irish Parliament), 18th-century Customs House, Four Courts (seat of high courts of Ireland), and Leinster House (present seat of the national parliament). One of the world's greatest city parks is Dublin's Phoenix Park. It contains Dublin Zoo (the 3rd-oldest public zoo in the world). The city of Dublin is also renowned for its public houses - the 100 metre long Hole-In-The-Wall is one of t hem and the longest in Europe.
Prominent among the many museums and galleries of Dublin are the National Museum of Ireland, the Natural History Museum, the Dublin Civic Museum, the Dublin Writers' Museum, the National Gallery, Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art.
Dublin port redevelopment
In July 2015, Dublin Port Company was granted permission for the "Alexandra Basin Redevelopment" project. It will transform the port's infrastructure and will allow docking of larger-sized cruise vessels by lengthening the berths and dredging / deepening. The project includes approx 3 km of the port’s 7 km (4,3 ml) of berths. Port's dredging / deepening will result in max draft 10 m (33 ft) in the entrance channel.
- The project's completion was scheduled for 2020, with estimated costs around EUR 230 million.
- The decision came following the port's report on cargo shipping volumes in 2015. This was a record with imports and exports volume increase of 5% (during the first 1/2 of the year). Imports were growing at 5,6% as the UK economy started to improve.
- In 2015, the cruise port reported a record year with 98 ship calls and over 200,000 passengers. Among the largest vessels were Royal Princess, Celebrity Silhouette and MSC Splendida (LOA length up to 333 m / 1158 ft). The port redevelopment project will allow even larger cruise ships to turn within the Alexandra Basin and dock close to East Link Bridge.
- Dublin is the country's largest cargo (and cruise) port). In October 2014, the European Union funded Dublin Port Company with EUR 2,4 million toward the costs of this project. In June 2015, the European Union additionally funded the company with EUR 22,8 million for the construction works. And finally, the European Investment Bank gave EUR 100 million as long-term debt finance.
- In 2015, the port's ferry passenger traffic was also incresed (with 4,8% over 2014) on ferry routes between Dublin and France and UK.
- Other planned port improvements included new high capacity firewater pump, Alexandra Quay Container Terminal, new imported cars terminal.
- During season 2016, the cruise port handled 104 ship calls and over 180,000 passengers.
- During season 2018, Celebrity Cruises became the first major cruise ship company to homeport a vessel here. The 313 m long, 2850-passenger ship Celebrity Eclipse had scheduled 5 itineraries roundtrip from Dublin (departure dates April 30, May 10, 20, 29 from Ocean Pier 33 terminal) visiting ports in Norway, Iceland and the UK. Celebrity Cruises attracted over 14,000 tourists to these Dublin roundtrip voyages. The Eclipse ship's homeporting was estimated at around EUR 6 million economic impact on Dublin and its surrounding region.
Highlights: City, Castle, Trinity College, Powerscourt Gardens
Dublin cruise terminal
Smaller cruise ships Dublin dock into the city center, going up on Liffey River.
Large cruise ships in Dublin dock at Alexandra Quay ("Ocean Pier 33" / shown on both photos). The cruise terminal is located in the port's industrial area. The quay is approx 1,5 km / 1 ml from the city center.
- Most cruise lines offer shuttle bus service - usually at no charge. These free shuttles from the port go to Kildare Street. Regular transportation from the cruise port to the city center is provided by bus line 53.
- The distance between the cruise ship terminal and the Luas (Light Rail Tram) stop at The Point is approx 1 ml / 1,5 km. Trams to the city run every 15 min. This tram stop is located close to the Wheel of Dublin (aka Revolver, a transportable Ferris wheel).
- Dublin Airport is located approx 6 ml / 10 km north of the city center.
Port Dun Laoghaire Harbour
If the cruise itinerary has Port Dublin listed as "Tendered", it means that disembarkation will be in Dun Laoghaire harbour. This is a small suburban town, located approx 13 km / 8 ml from Dublin's city centre.
- A free shuttle bus service is provided from the port to Dun Laoghaire's railway station. DART trains to Dublin run every 15 min (approx 45 min travel time). In the city center, passengers hane 3 stations to leave the train - Pearse Street, Tara Street, and Connelly.
- In 2015 the harbour filed an application for a construction plan to build a new cruise ship berth. The new cruise facility will be able to handle vessels with LOA length up to 340 m (1115 ft) and around 400,000 passengers per year. The port's passenger volume for 2015 was around 100,000.
- The first cruise ship visit in Dun Laoghaire was in 2012. The estimated impact on the local economy is around GBP 27 million.
Dublin tours, shore excursions, hotels
City Tours and Shore Excursions
The Dublin cruise port map is interactive. It shows the port's exact location, along with the real-time cruise ship traffic (if any) in its vicinity - today, and right now. By zooming-out you can see other cruise ship ports located near Dublin, Ireland.
If you lose the Dublin location on the map, simply reload the page (also with F5 button). This feature is integrated with the CruiseMapper's cruise ship tracker tracking the vessels' current positions at sea and in ports.
Port Dublin cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Dublin, Ireland. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.
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20 March, 2018