PICTURES: Tourist bonanza for Thurso after gigantic cruise ship visits
Thurso was well-prepared to welcome the AIDAsol cruise ship contingent when the huge vessel berthed at Scrabster harbour on Saturday.
The 71,304-tonne vessel, the largest to have ever visited the area, loomed high over everything else in the harbour and there were regular relays of coaches taking the passengers into Thurso.
Trudy Morris, chief executive of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s fantastic to see the community coming together and there are lots of buses taking the cruise visitors into Thurso.
“We have the market and craft stalls in the town and it’s also beneficial for Scrabster to have the cruise ships in. The pier was redeveloped to allow these bigger vessels to dock and when I walked down to Scrabster this morning and the ferry was in, the Hamnavoe was dwarfed beside it. It just shows you the amount of tonnage and the size of vessel that can now dock at Scrabster.
“There are a lot of people walking about the town and some walking across the coastal path from Scrabster into Thurso. Scrabster has done really well to attract these cruise ships.”
Ms Morris said that there was a cruise meeting point at the Riverside Car Park in Thurso and when we visited on Saturday afternoon many were seen boarding special free shuttle buses laid on by Scrabster Harbour Trust. There was a mobile coffee shop and a chip van had been there earlier. A ‘meet and greet’ information point was operated by volunteers Janneta and Tanya Sutherland who had a desk laid out with useful information for the visitors.
Tanya said: “We’re just here to welcome all the guests and tell them where to go and things they can see. There are volunteers at St Peter’s church and they can see the castle, take river walks and, most importantly, come into town. There’s a market in the town today as well.”
“I used to work in the tourist information centre,” added Janneta.
“When the cruise ships came in I used to meet the shuttle bus, so I’ve been doing it for a long time.
“It’s really good for the town to have something like this. When the ship’s leaving the port quite often the Highland dancers and junior pipe band are playing.”
They said that there were over 2000 people on the ship and that they had come into Thurso at different times with some going on special tours of the area. “There are three or four buses put on free for the guests that run all day from Scrabster harbour. We get really good feedback from them too.”
The ship, operated by AIDA Cruises, is 253 metres in length and taking its passengers on an 11-night voyage of Scotland and Norway. Carrying 2071 passengers and 624 crew aboard, it started and will finish at Hamburg.
Hans Peter was one of the many tourists visiting Thurso after the AIDAsol berthed at Scrabster. “It’s a German ship and we are mostly coming from Germany. I’m happy there’s a distillery here,” he said while holding up a bottle of Wolfburn whisky.
The AIDAsol also stopped off in May 2023 but moored in Thurso Bay instead of berthing at St Ola Pier. It has a further two Scrabster calls scheduled for the 2024 season.
