GERMAN VISITORS CRUISE INTO PEMBROKESHIRE

Over 1,000 German passengers and crew cruised into Milford Haven last weekend on one of the larger cruise ships to visit the port this summer.

The German-registered Delphin Renaissance called in on its way from Torquay to Scotland on Sunday, and anchored off the shore for much of the day.

The majority of its 780 passengers and 370 crew came ashore to visit Milford and to go on excursions further afield into Pembrokeshire to towns including Tenby, Pembroke and St Davids.

Milford Haven Port Authority provided German-speakers on the quayside to help passengers as they disembarked, and hundreds of packs containing information from Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park, the Wales Tourist Board, Pembrokeshire County Council and the Port Authority were distributed.

Passengers were greeted on their return to the quayside after their excursions by the Haverfordwest Male Voice Choir, who entertained them whilst they waited for tenders to carry them back to the Renaissance at the end of the day.

The visit, which was supported by the tourism department of Pembrokeshire County Council and attended by representatives of Pembrokeshire Tourism, was the latest in a series of cruise ship visits between May and October.

They are the result of efforts by Milford Haven Port Authority over recent years to attract cruises, which bring with them an influx of visitors and hundreds of crew members and provide a boost to the local economy.

Five cruise ships are calling between June and September on their way around Britain’s coast. In June, the MV Explorer arrived from Eire on its way to the Scilly Isles, and this Sunday, the Saga Ruby is due to arrive on her way from Falmouth to Dublin. In August the Prinsendam calls in after visiting Guernsey en route to Waterford, and in September the Saga Ruby calls in on its return leg back to Falmouth.

Other visitors this year have been the paddle steamer Waverley and the Tenacious - one of two tall ships operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust specially designed to integrate able-bodied and physically disabled crew.

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