Big boats back in Bay

Torbay welcomes liner's passengers

Tor Bay has welcomed its first cruise ship of the new season.

The Zuiderdam sailed into the bay in brilliant sunshine early on Thursday morning (May 25) for a 12-hour stop which evoked memories of the bay’s role as a safe harbour for giant cruise ships during the covid pandemic.

“It’s great to see them back,” said Torbay Council leader David Thomas.

During the pandemic, cruise lines sent their big ships to the bay to shelter in its calm waters while they waited for business to begin again after the lockdowns and travel restrictions. Ships became a familiar sight in the bay and around Hope’s Nose in Babbacombe Bay.

As many as seven were at anchor at a time, from world-famous cruise lines including Cunard, Tui and Holland America. They took part in Remembrance Day events by blowing their horns to signal the start and end of the two minutes’ silence.

And at Christmas local well-wishers collected cards and gifts for the skeleton crews left on board the ships. Children at local schools made dozens of cards for the crews

With the worldwide cruise business is back at full capacity, the Holland America ship Zuiderdam arrived in the bay after leaving Waterford in Ireland. She dropped anchor a mile off Princess Pier. After leaving the bay she will head to Rotterdam to collect passengers for a 14-day cruise around the British Isles.

The ship was built in 2002 and sails under the flag of the Netherlands. She has luxurious accommodation for nearly 2,000 guests.

Tor Bay harbourmaster Rob Parsons said the harbour’s ferry pontoon would be a restricted area for the duration of the visit, and tenders from the Zuiderdam would be bringing passengers ashore throughout the day. The ship was due to leave around 6.30 p.m.

Cllr Thomas (Con, Preston) is delighted to see the big ships back in the bay. “It is really good to see Torbay back on the cruise ships map,” he said.

“We had them in the bay for all that time during the pandemic, and a real connection was established between the people of the bay and the ships.

“We all have memories of the pandemic, not all of them good ones, but this is a positive sign for Torbay. They stayed with us a long time and they said they would come back. Now they have.”