Biggest cruise ship yet brings a boost to island

The island proved popular with the passengers of the MSC Virtuosa, which was half full to its 6,000 capacity, with a steady stream of tourists making their way through the High Street.

Cruise ships are believed to contribute millions of pounds to the local economy each year. However, the visits stopped for more than two years due to the pandemic.

Cruise pier manager Isabel De Menezes said the Virtuosa visitors, who were predominately British, were on a short two-night stay onboard the ship, which arrived from Southampton on Saturday.

‘There are just over 3,100 on board, which at the beginning of the season is fairly normal,’ she said.

‘I think we may very well see people reuniting.’

Following years of Covid disruption, the Petit Train was back once again as a favourite for visitors, much to the relief of driver Andy Furnis.

‘Today is the first time I have had staff in three years,’ he said.

‘We are back in the game, employing people and contributing.’

Back in 2019, the 30-year-old train was making up to nine trips per day, but Mr Furnis said it was important not to rush back into things.

‘We are giving people a really good experience and making sure they enjoy Guernsey in the little snapshot they get,’ he added.

‘It has been such a long time so we are taking it really steady and not jamming people on the train.’

The Thornton family, visiting from Poole, said they had enjoyed the train ride.

‘It’s lovely to be in Guernsey,’ said Rick Thornton.

‘We are going to have a look at Victor Hugo’s House.’

Harvey, nine, liked being somewhere new.

‘I liked the buildings we saw from the train,’ he said.

With the arrival of the ship, numbers at the Boathouse had returned almost to pre-Covid levels, said Christies Group general manager Katie Lawler.

‘At lunch we had around 170 people,’ she said.

‘It was a bit of a shock to the system because of the big number of people coming in, but as soon as they arrived we were back to normal.’

Local boats transported 120 passengers from the ship at a time as well as a tender boat with a capacity of 90.

These included Lesley and Alan Douglas from Manchester.

‘We have never been so it’s quite exciting really,’ Mrs Douglas said.

‘We thought we would come off [the ship] because it looked so pretty.’

She hoped to return to the island after their brief stay.

‘That boat is a great way of trying something different,’ she said.

‘It’s given us a bit of a flavour and maybe we will come back.’

Joining locals on the crowded High Street were Kay Letts and Cynthia Lodge from Northampton.

‘We are just having a wander around and that’s what we came for,’ Ms Lodge said.

Ms Letts added: ‘It’s a lovely little place.’

For father and son Michael and Joey Ross, from Guilford, visiting Guernsey was a chance to take part in the park run.

‘We really enjoyed it,’ Mr J Ross said.

‘We got the bus to the park run, ran the 5k, and got the bus back.’

Mr M Ross added: ‘It was very scenic and there were lovely views across the bay.’