Ireland's wealth has always been tied up in the sea. From Roman coins brought here by traders from Britain, to the Vikings who sailed up Irish rivers and began to mint the first silver pennies, to the undersea cables which pour data in and out of the country today.
To sail around Ireland's coasts in Viking times was was a significant and hugely challenging undertaking- nowadays thousands of people each year circumnavigate the island in the lap of luxury.
This year, Irish ports will welcome around 300 cruise ships, bringing with them tourists from across the globe and a boost to the regional economies.
Ireland's busiest port for cruises is the Port of Cork in Cobh, which is set to welcome 93 cruise ships between April and November carrying around 160,000 passengers.
Bantry Bay is set to welcome a further 14 ships and last year brought five times the town's population to the area through cruising alone.
Cork's history with cruise ships is a long one with famous names like Titanic and sister ships the Lusitania and Mauritania visiting Cobh in the early 1900s. The latter two were built by the Cunard line which still visits the port, with The Queen Anne arriving for the first time last year.
The Port of Cork estimates the cruise business will be worth €20 million to the local economy in 2025.
"Cork Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world, which means it has naturally deep water providing little to no restrictions on visiting cruise liners," said Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer, Port of Cork Company.
According to Mr Mowlds, the community in Cork really sees the value of cruise tourism.
"There's a genuine appreciation for the benefits it brings to the local economy, especially during the summer period," he said.
"When cruise vessels arrive into both Cobh and Bantry, the atmosphere is electric and there is a significant effort from locals and the business community to welcome passengers to the town and city, with live music and markets providing each visitor with the chance to immerse themselves in the local food, drink, music, and culture," he added.
Mr Mowlds, who is also Chair of representative group Cruise Ireland, is hoping the port can expand beyond the roughly 100 ships that will visit Cork and Bantry this year.
"We are working closely with Cruise Britain to grow the cruise tourism industry across both islands," he explained.
"We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cruise Britain, which aims to promote Ireland and the British Isles as a 'cruising region' allowing both organisations to tap into new markets and expand our reach," he added.
While Cork may be the busiest destination for cruisers, Waterford is the oldest. The Vikings sailed up the river Suir and founded Ireland's oldest city 1,111 years ago.
Some cruise ships still follow that track up the river to dock at Belview Port, around 7km from the city. Others anchor in the deep water off Dunmore East.
But growth is being limited by a cap on the number of ships that can visit Dunmore and no direct docking in Waterford city.
Within the city of Waterford, a significant development is taking place along the North Quays.
"When that investment is over, what we would like to do is open one of the berths in the city and rather than having all the ships call to the industrial port that is Belview, that they would be able to arrive at the city and use the new proposed sustainable bridge to walk directly from the berth to the city centre.
"There is a lot of openness to it from the City Council, the Chamber and the developer, so I expect it is going to happen," Mr Sinnott said.
While being able to walk off a cruise ship directly into a city centre location is rare, tender ports like at Dunmore can discourage some passengers from leaving the ship and spending money, particularly if bad weather is a factor.
A number of stops were cancelled last year due to the weather, but 25 ships successfully docked in Waterford.
Ireland's second largest port for cruise visits is also a tender port.
Dún Laoghaire has taken off as a cruising destination since Brexit, according to Tim Ryan, Operations Manager of Dún Laoghaire Harbour.
"When Brexit came in, Dublin Port ran out of capacity because they had to put in extra space for things like storage and custom checks.
"That's basically what grew the cruise business for Dún Laoghaire, because Dublin Port could no longer accommodate it," he explained.
Dún Laoghaire invested in the infrastructure and as soon as Covid restrictions lifted, the port began welcoming cruise ships in greater numbers.
Research carried out by the Marine Institute, Foras na Mara, shows the dramatic fall in cruise activity at Dublin Port post 2019, and the rise at Dún Laoghaire from 2022.
Back in 2019, 158 cruise ships visited Dublin Port. Smaller liners went up the River Liffey close to the city centre, while the larger vessels used to berth in Alexandra Quay, 2kms from the city centre.
Now, just 30 to 40 mid-sized cruise ships visit Dublin Port annually.
Cruise activity isn't the priority for the port, with a spokesperson confirming that it has historically accounted for less than 1% of the port's overall revenue.
A spokesperson said the port's mandate is to facilitate international trade for imports and exports with 35 million tonnes of freight and 1.64 million ferry passengers passing through each year.
"Alongside this, and against the background of Masterplan 2040 development work, the Port aims to accommodate mid-size cruise ships where possible," the spokesperson said.
"All this activity places high demand on current berth and land capacity, and so availability for cruise ships is kept under constant review."
The Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland (CTTC), the country's representative body for private bus operators, thinks Dublin Port should be investing more in cruise ship facilities.
It believes Belfast Harbour’s plan to invest €106 million to improve such facilities will lure cruise ships and visiting tourists away from Dublin to Northern Ireland.
"Dublin Port's continued refusal to expand its cruise liner facilities is already costing millions in lost revenue for Dublin and the east coast of Ireland," the CTTC said.
"It’s limiting visitor numbers, retail footfall, and the overall visitor experience.
"Major cities across Europe are capitalising on high-spending cruise tourism, yet Dublin Port is not taking advantage of this lucrative market," it added.
Many cruise passengers wanting to visit Dublin city will dock in Dún Laoghaire, 11km south of the city centre.
Eighty cruise ships are currently due to dock in 2025 carrying 128,000 passengers and around 50,000 crew.
However, the port can only accept ships that are willing to tender in guests on smaller boats.
"There are some cruise ship companies who will not tender their passengers ashore, so there's an element of the market there that we are not able to capture," said Tim Ryan, Operations Manager of Dún Laoghaire Harbour.
"It’s quite labour intensive from a ship’s point of view. So, if you imagine you have six little boats going in and out, each one of those needs a crew of four," he explained.
The port doesn't have the infrastructure, or depth to bring large cruise ships into the port, and there are no immediate plans to change that.
"There were proposals by the former harbour company to construct a cruise berth that could accommodate larger ships," Mr Ryan explained.
"That didn't successfully make its way through the planning process and I'm not sure there's an appetite.
"The ships look nicer when they're out in the bay, but they can be enormous when they're close up and we're not an enormous port," he added.
Despite this, the area is reaping the benefits of the growing cruise activity.
Mr Ryan said economically the impact of crew members is often overlooked.
While many tourists will head into the city centre, the crew will often stay in the town.
"The staff actually potentially have a larger impact in a small area like Dún Laoghaire than the passengers do," he explained.
"So the passengers will do the touristy experiences, but the crew are often stocking up on provisions when they come ashore.
"Dunnes Stores and Penneys do well for the socks and the essentials, and we have a Filipino shop up the town that does fairly well from the Filipino crew," he added.
Research carried out by Fáilte Ireland a few years ago estimated that each passenger contributes over €80 to the Irish economy and each crew member around €35.
Further data from Foras na Mara shows a steady increase in spending by guests in the years since Covid restrictions lifted.
According to Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council, over 40% of passengers who tender ashore visit Dún Laoghaire town and the surrounding area.
"The benefits of these cruises include job creation in various roles such as our tourist cabin, security staff, and tender escort boats," said Frank Curran, Chief Executive of Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council.
"When passengers and crew arrive, we have a tourist cabin in place where we meet and greet passengers and advise them of local attractions and places of interest to visit.
"We also have a local shop on site for passengers to pick up local Irish focused gifts," he added.
While some cruise passengers opt to explore the port towns, others head off on tours arranged by the cruise companies.
Here in Ireland, these tours are run by one company, Excursions Ireland.
It was set up in 2004 when the cruise industry was still relatively small.
Now, the business employs 18 full-time staff members at its Dublin head office, along with numerous contracted and seasonal employees throughout the country.
Niamh McCarthy, Managing Director of Excursions Ireland, said a growing number of cruise passengers are now looking for off-the-beaten-path experiences.
"While the classic tours to iconic sites like Blarney Castle, the Guinness Storehouse, Titanic Belfast and the Giants Causeway will always be popular, there's growing demand for niche tours that explore less-visited but equally fascinating destinations," she said.
"This opens up opportunities for lesser-known attractions and regions that previously might not have seen as much footfall from the cruise sector," she added.
Clearly, the cruise industry in Ireland is making waves, but is it reaching its full potential?
"I don't think so at all," said Ms McCarthy.
"As a matter of fact, nowhere near it in my opinion."
She believes this is mainly due to Ireland's somewhat limited infrastructure, with just one designated fixed cruise berth in Cobh.
"The idea of introducing a fixed cruise berth on the west coast, such as in Galway or Foynes, makes a lot of sense," she said.
"It would open up a new region for cruises to explore and provide the necessary shelter for visiting ships along our western seaboard.
"This could indeed promote round-Ireland cruises, which not only increases the volume of passengers but also spreads the benefits of tourism across the entire country and not just the main ports," she added.
Ms McCarthy said the various geopolitical instabilities such as the situation in the Black Sea, makes it even more pressing for Ireland to market itself as a reliable, attractive cruising destination.
"With the projected influx of over 50 new ships by 2030, it seems like an opportune time to build the necessary infrastructure and increase visibility on the global cruise map," she said.
"It has often been joked that cruising should be an all year round sector in Ireland as our weather leaves very little differential between summer and winter seasons," she added.
For now though, cruise season in Ireland runs from the end of March to November, with businesses right across the country gearing up for an influx of customers over the coming weeks.
So, while sailing around the Irish Sea in 2025 is now more lounge chairs and waiters than longships and Vikings, the money it generates for the Irish economy remains every bit as important as it was a thousand years ago.
