The first cruise ship of the 2018 season has arrived in Aberdeen this week.
The Corinthian, with its five decks and jacuzzi, sailed into the harbour on Tuesday and will make a return visit today with guests enjoying a morning tour of historic areas of the city.
They were shown around Aberdeen University and Footdee then given a free afternoon to explore.
Commercial director of the Aberdeen Harbour Board, Matt North, said: “As our £350million Aberdeen Harbour Expansion Construction Project continues, the future for a growing cruise market looks positive and we are looking forward to building on our current cruise activity in the Granite City.
“Even in 2018, before the completion of the expansion, which is scheduled to officially open in the summer of 2020, the cruise industry is playing a growing role, both in Aberdeen and across the country.”
Aberdeen Harbour has already received 28 bookings for cruise calls in 2018, carrying an estimated 2,500 passengers to the established city berth.
Mr North added: “Cruise Scotland registered 762 cruise ship visits to Scottish Ports in 2017, carrying more than 680,000 tourists to regions around the country.
“In 2020, we are due to complete our expansion with the opening of our new port, which, combined with our existing infrastructure, will make us Scotland’s largest port in terms of berth capacity, with a water depth of up to 14 metres. “This will allow us to accommodate calls from even larger vessels while providing state-of-the-art facilities as well as our comprehensive expertise, gained over the past 900 years as the oldest business in Britain.”
