Luxurious £113m 'mega-yacht' on its way to Plymouth
A luxury £113m “mega-yacht” which has its own theatre, spa and a fleet of speedboats is due to visit Plymouth tomorrow. The plush Le Dumont-d’Urville is currently in the North East Atlantic, between Ireland and England, and on its way to Britain’s Ocean City.
The cruise ship is due to arrive at 8am on Friday, for a short stay, and will berth in the Sound with passengers taken to the Barbican by tender. The vessel is operated by Ponant Cruises and classed as an expedition mega-yacht.
It is ice strengthened and often cruises around Scandinavia and Iceland as well as other “offbeat itineraries” including to Caribbean, Baltic, Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, South America and Australia. Built in 2019 at a cost of about £113m, the Wallis and Futuna-flagged ship carries up to 264 passengers, in 92 cabins, and 112 crew.
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The seven-deck vessel is named after famous French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville, who charted the Pacific. It has a sundeck with swimming pool, a retractable marina platform for deploying water sports equipment, and its own fleet of Zodiacs, large speed boats used for passenger tendering and landings in remote locations.
Jon Walton, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership’s chief executive and waterfront manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome guests and crew of the Le Dumont-d’Urville to Britain's Ocean City on Friday.”
Cruise ship visits have given Plymouth a £1.5m boost so far this year. Vessels stopping at Britain’s Ocean City have brought 10,000 visitors, many of them spending cash in Plymouth and the surrounding areas.
Plymouth City Centre Company’s newly-released draft business plan for the next five years shows Plymouth had 10 cruise ship visits in 2023 and an increase this year. Le Dumont-d’Urville is the 10th arrival in 2024 with another, Artania, still to come next month. The ambition is to grow this to 30 visits a year.
Last weekend the £116m Amadea arrived in Plymouth, berthing at Millbay, with passengers visiting the waterfront during the highly successful Seafest celebrations. The Japanese-built vessel carried up to 624 passengers and 280 crew members. It has 11 decks, with 254 cabins and two royal suites.
Mr Walton said: “This has been a fantastic year for cruise ship visits to Plymouth and is testament to the collaborative work of the Plymouth Cruise Partnership. As always, the welcome we give is second to none, and I give my heartfelt thanks to the Cruise Ambassadors who volunteer their time. The feedback from guests and crew is amazing; I would also like to thank Doug and Annemarie Kerr who lead the volunteer team and who are so important to the partnership.”
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