A new luxury cruise liner makes first visit to Highlands

A brand new and super luxurious cruise ship was due today (Tuesday) to join the armada of liners that are boosting visitors to Inverness and the wider Highlands.

The MSC Explora 1 makes her inaugural visit to the Port of Cromarty Firth carrying 920 passengers and arrives from Edinburgh before heading on to the Isle of Skye󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.

Inverness City Centre Business Improvement District (BID) went on social media to give a warm welcome to all on board.

Thousands of passengers come off liners docking in the Cromarty Firth each year and are transported to the Highland capital and other destinations such as Loch Ness.

And BID also supplied an interesting fact: "The ship's Captain Serena Melani was the world’s first female captain to bring a cruise ship out of a shipyard and she will steer the Explora 1 to remarkable destinations."

Explora 1 has 461 ocean-front suites, nine culinary experiences three outdoor pools and one indoor.

The 248m long vessel is 63,900 gross tonnes and has a service speed of 18 knots.

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