The picturesque town of Cobh, on the Great Island in Cork Harbour has Ireland's only dedicated Cruise Liner terminal.  In 2009 fifty six liners are scheduled to visit the Port of Cork. These include the largest liner in the World, the Independence of the Seas and the Queen Mary 2 on its first visit to Cork and two liners calling as a part of their World Cruise itineraries - the Tahitian Princess and the Dawn Princess.

Cobh is a favoured port of call for liner passengers because the ship is docked a two minute stroll from the centre of a town that is steeped in history, maritime tradition and the story of emigration from Ireland. The railway station is adjacent to the quayside with hourly connections to Cork city so that passengers have the choice to set their own itineraries.

In a byegone era it was poverty that brought the largest liners in the World to Cobh to pick up passengers hoping to start a new life on the other side of the Atlantic. It is now prosperity that brings the World's finest Liners to Cobh. People from all over the south of Ireland come to come to marvel at the larger liners when they are in Port. Free entertainment is often provided in the town to co-incide with a liner's visit.

The Cobh Confraternity Brass and Reed band play as many  liners sail, bringing the nostalgia and fanfare of a bygone era to life for the Cruise Liner passengers. As locals and visitors to the town gather on the quaysides to wave farewell, the finest Cruise Liners in the World sail into the channel to the strains of "Anchor's Aweigh".