Derry prepares for visit of The World

The world’s most exclusive floating apartment ship, The World, is expected to visit Lisahally Port in Derry this Sunday.

The World of ResidenSea – a luxury liner with 104 apartments and 88 guest suites - set sail from Oslo earlier in the year and will visit Derry after spending time in the ports of Cork, Waterford, Dublin and Belfast as part of an Atlantic cruise.

The cruise ship is expected to arrive at Lisahally Port on Sunday morning, August 18, at 06.00am, and will depart again at 18.00pm on Monday, 19 August.

Aideen Corr, Cruise Development Officer with Derry City Council, said the industry is very excited at the opportunity to welcome such a unique vessel to the region.

“There’s great excitement about the visit of The World. It is a highly prestigious, state of the art vessel, with passengers on board who actually own their berths similar to owning an apartment abroad. We expect a lot of interest from the cruise industry in this ship and are delighted that it has chosen Derry as one of its calls on its inaugural season. The cruise industry is constantly changing and developments such as the “apartment ship” add new business and growth to the industry each year,” she said.

The Mayor, Councillor Kathleen McCloskey said the North West continues to be a destination for the international and prestigious cruise industry.

“Derry is recognised as an attractive and important port of call within the industry and I am particularly delighted that The World has chosen the city as a destination. A visit by such a prestigious ship will continue to raise the region’s profile as a cruise destination,” she said.

The chairman of Londonderry Port, Mary Breslin said the visit was also good news for the Port. “It is important to welcome a variety of operators to the region. This is the sixth cruise ship to visit the North West region this summer. Visits from these high profile, luxury vessels create a very positive image for the destination and puts the Port on the world map of cruise ports.”

The World incorporates a shopping mall, art gallery, casino and restaurants. However, as with all private cruise ships there is a strict no public access policy and according to Derry City Council the best vantage point from which to see the ship will be Culmore Point.

(SP)