Steve Atmore, Head of Cruise Operations at the Port of Dover, has welcomed the Master of the Emerald Princess, Captain Giorgio Pomata and First Officer Chris Lye on the ship's inaugural call to the Port of Dover on Tuesday 10th May.
The ceremony provided a chance for one crew member to return to familiar waters. Chris Lye knows the port very well having been a Port of Dover pilot a few years ago. Gaining great experience at one of the world's busiest ports, Chris is now First Officer and looks set to take charge of his own cruise ship soon.
The Emerald Princess had just arrived from Le Havre on a 27 day transatlantic cruise that started in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The vessel left Dover for Rotterdam before taking in the Baltic capitals of Oslo, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm and then ending its journey at Copenhagen.
The luxury Emerald Princess is one of the largest ships in the Princess fleet and carries over 3000 passengers. She was joined at the cruise port by Pullmantur's Empress and WCA Lisbon's classic cruise ship the Princess Daphne, built in 1955 and carrying only 550 guests.
