"Century" marks a full house for Invergordon
The arrival of Celebrity Cruise Line’s “mv Century” on Sunday at Invergordon marked a significant milestone for the Easter Ross port. It now means that every major cruise line in the world has visited Invergordon. The liner docked on Sunday morning with 1766 passengers, just short of its 1800 capacity.
In keeping with tradition, The Highland Council and Cruise Highlands Ltd., marked the occasion of the ship’s inaugural visit by presenting a commemorative plaque and a copy of the book “This Noble Harbour” to the ship’s Captain, Nikolaos Pagonis.
Representing The Highland Council on her first civic duty since being elected, Councillor Maxine Smith said: “I was delighted to have the opportunity to formally welcome this ship to Invergordon. The fact that it was sailing almost full, is testament to the popularity of Invergordon as a port of call. Captain Pagonis was quick to point out to me that the reason they came to Invergordon was because of the wealth of history, heritage and stunning scenery which the Highlands has to offer.”
Captain Iain Dunderdale, representing Cruise Highlands said: “The arrival of this ship is a significant achievement for us, as we can now claim that every major cruise line in the world has visited Invergordon. We have worked closely with Highland Council’s Tourism Development Officer over a number of years promoting Invergordon and the Highlands to the international cruise industry and we are now firmly established as a regular port of call. To further underline Celebrity’s confidence in the port, Captain Pagonis told me today that he will be back twice next year with “Century” and that another newer and larger Celebrity ship, “Constellation” will also visit.”
Passengers from “Century” enjoyed a variety of shore excursions around the Highlands, including Dornoch, Shin Falls, Cawdor Castle, Dunrobin Castle and Glenmorangie Distillery.
With many of the excursions lasting only a half day, there was plenty of opportunity for passengers to explore Invergordon and many traders reported brisk business throughout the day from both crew and passengers. Invergordon’s latest attraction, the “Off The Wall” murals attracted a lot of attention from passengers strolling around town.
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