Ahead of its time

“I read with particular interest an article on the cruise market involving Tayside and east central Scotland and am wondering why it has taken so long for this market to be realised,” emails a reader with a background in tourism and commercial shipping.

“Port records show a cruise liner named Prinzessin Victoria Luise having arrived at Dundee as far back as 1905. There was a break until 1964 when a group arrived from Norway on the liner Meteor to visit Perthshire’s hydroelectric power generation schemes. The cruise ship Arandora Star of the Blue Star Line had paid a brief call to the Tay in 1934 for a cruise to Iceland and Scandinavian ports but due to a delay in bunkering in the Thames, did not berth alongside at Dundee.

“She missed the tide, had to anchor outside the Tay bar, and finally reached Stannergate Road at 4am. Only a handful of enthusiasts watched a ‘Fifie’ embark her tourists who had spent part of a night in a hotel.

“What intrigued me”, he continues, “is that I came across an article in a 1972 edition of the former Dundee Chamber of Commerce quarterly journal on the subject, entitled Dundee: An Ideal Cruise Centre”

“It began with a review of the educational cruises of the Uganda and continued: ‘In many parts of the world cruising by sea has become big business and ships of many nations are playing an active part in this fast growing aspect of international tourism. A large percentage of vessels engaged in this trade are of more modest dimensions than the Uganda. In the past many cruise liners have regularly anchored in the Firth of Forth. This year (1972) a Spanish liner is scheduled to berth in King George V Dock at Glasgow. Arrangements have been made to take her passengers on sightseeing tours of the Glasgow area. Leith too, has a number of European liners during the summer months stopping over for short spells.’

“It goes on: ‘The tourist attractions of Tayside could convince international cruise operators that this region has something of value to offer, if only as a port of call on a wider itinerary. A list of places of historical and general interest followed including Arbroath Abbey, Glamis Castle, Falkland Palace etc.’

“The article concludes: ‘A breakthrough into this expanding market is well worth striving for.’

The mention of the Spanish-owned cruise liner Cabo San Roque encouraged the Chamber to pursue the potential of this branch of tourism and, after correspondence, word in the affirmative was received from the owners in Madrid that their ship would visit the port of Dundee the following year while en route from Bilbao via Le Havre to the Baltic.”