THE first of 29 cruise ships to arrive in Fishguard over the extended summer season came into port last weekend, with passengers welcomed by the new Fishguard Friendly Faces team.

The National Geographic Explorer, an 81 berth ice-class state-of the-art expedition vessel, more commonly seen in the fjords of Norway and Antarctica, docked in Fishguard on Saturday, May 6.

Passengers from America, Canada, Australia and Sweden were welcomed by the Friendly Faces team wearing bespoke gilets and handing out welcome bags.

Passengers then embarked on excursions to visit the highlights of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park including the coast path, north Pembrokeshire’s prehistoric archaeology and St. David’s Cathedral, as well as taking a shuttle bus into town.

The visit was part of an Explore the Coasts of England and Wales cruise, the result of a National Geographic familiarisation visit last year to see what Wales had to offer as a cruise destination.

Fishguard Bay Welcome and the new Fishguard Friendly Faces team were at the port to welcome the Explorer and to provide information to passengers and crew who took the shuttle into town.

“It went really well,” said Jana Davidson of Fishguard Bay Welcome. “They all seemed really happy and had a good arrival. They had a positive experience and loved the welcome.”

When the visitors returned in the afternoon they were treated to Welsh cakes and live music from local harpist, Moira Lewis.

“They all said they had an amazing afternoon wherever they went and really enjoyed their visit,” said Jana.

A floating pontoon at Fishguard, installed to allow larger vessels to anchor with the support of Welsh Government Tourism Investment Support Scheme, has seen cruise ship visits to Fishguard increase from five in 2015 to 29 this year.

The next cruise ship to visit the town will be the German Aida Vita, along with 1,200 passengers, which docks next Monday, May 15.