When your cruise ship can’t get a berth at Dublin Port, it drops anchor out in Dublin Bay instead and sends you ashore at Dún Laoghaire Harbour. You’ll come in by tender, one of the small boats that shuttle passengers to and from the ship, landing a short walk from the train station and about twenty five minutes from Dublin city centre.
Dún Laoghaire or Dublin Port: which one is your cruise ship using?
Dublin has two completely separate places a cruise ship can turn up, and that catches plenty of people out. Dublin Port sits right inside the city and takes ships that can pull up against a quay. Dún Laoghaire Harbour, a working harbour about eight miles south-east of the centre, is where ships anchor and tender passengers ashore instead, either because they’re too big for Dublin Port’s berths or because the port’s capacity for that week is already spoken for.
Dublin Port Company caps itself at two large ships a week in summer and one in winter, a rule that’s set to run through to the end of the decade, with no turnaround calls allowed at all. So some ships end up anchored at Dún Laoghaire simply because the diary was full, not because anything went wrong. Dublin Port does keep a live board of what’s alongside its quays, handy if you want to check what’s in port on a given day, but it only shows ships actually berthed in the city. Anything anchored off Dún Laoghaire won’t show up there. You might also spot “Berth 18” mentioned online as Dublin Port’s small-ship cruise berth; that’s a label cruise-tracking sites use, not something the port itself calls it (they use their own Ocean Pier terminology), so take it as a rough guide rather than gospel.
In the most recent full year of official figures, 71 cruise ships called at Dún Laoghaire carrying just over 107,000 passengers between them, the second-highest total of any Irish port after Cobh Cruise Ship Terminal (Port of Cork) Port, according to the Central Statistics Office. For the full picture of the city-centre terminal, our Port of Dublin guide covers that side of things.
Where the tender lands: St Michael’s Wharf or Carlisle Pier
Cruise ships anchor out in Dublin Bay and tender you ashore at Dún Laoghaire Harbour, but exactly where that tender lands depends on who you ask. Operational notices point to St Michael’s Wharf, with a coach compound nearby for the shore excursion coaches, the organised tours you book through the ship. Other guides have tenders landing at Carlisle Pier instead, sometimes called the East Pier landing, which puts you out directly in front of the National Maritime Museum of Ireland.
Either way, the walk to Dún Laoghaire’s DART station is short, somewhere between three and ten minutes depending on which pier is in use that day. Your best bet is to check with the shore excursion desk or listen out for the announcement before tendering starts, since the exact berth can change from one call to the next.
Carlisle Pier today: a car park, not a cruise terminal
Carlisle Pier was the mailboat pier for decades, until a new car ferry terminal opened nearby and left it with nothing to do. It’s sat largely unused since, and a redevelopment plan drawn up some years back ground to a halt when the harbour company pulled preferred-bidder status from the consortium meant to carry it out.
Today it’s a car park and an occasional short-term berth for cargo and cruise ships, not somewhere you’d wander for a look around. A watersports coaching centre has been proposed for the site, but nothing’s confirmed yet, and there’s no hotel or restaurant operating there, whatever you might read elsewhere.
The DART from Dún Laoghaire station to Dublin city centre
The quickest way into Dublin from here is the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit), the coastal train line that runs along Dublin Bay. Dún Laoghaire station is a short walk from wherever your tender happens to land, and trains run roughly every ten to fifteen minutes, so you’re never waiting long.
The journey to the city centre takes twenty to thirty minutes, landing you at Pearse Street or Tara Street. Pearse Street puts you right beside Trinity College, handy if that’s your first stop of the day. Buy your ticket at the machine on the platform before you board; there’s no need to book ahead.
Taxi and bus alternatives to the DART
A taxi from the pier into central Dublin costs noticeably more than the train, though it buys you back time if your hours ashore are tight or you’re travelling with mobility needs. Taxis at the pier itself can be thin on the ground, with no guaranteed rank, so it’s worth checking with the shore excursion desk whether one can be arranged for you.
Bus routes including the 7A, 7C and 7D also run into the city and stop at more places on the way, but they take longer than the DART, so they’re not the first choice if your time ashore is tight.
When several ships are in: the DART gets crowded
Dún Laoghaire is a tender port, and on busy days the DART is the only quick way into Dublin for everyone who’s just stepped off a tender. When more than one ship is anchored off the harbour at once, the station gets properly overwhelmed, and the line just doesn’t have the capacity to clear a full platform quickly at peak times.
The trick is not to land on the platform in the first rush off the tender. Walk the East Pier for twenty minutes before heading to the station, or take an earlier tender back in the afternoon instead of leaving it to the last one. Either way spreads the crowd out and cuts the wait considerably.
Checking the season’s cruise schedule before you go
There’s no live tracker for Dún Laoghaire, so if a third-party site shows no ships due on a given day, that’s not something to rely on. If you want to know whether a cruise ship is due in today, the schedule published by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which handles cruise ship bookings for the harbour, is the one to trust.
More than 70 cruise ships are scheduled to call this season, bringing around 128,000 passengers and 50,000 crew between them, up on the season before. Viking Cruises makes the most visits, followed by Norwegian Cruise Line, and the longest ship due is Princess Cruises’ Regal Princess, at 330 metres. Windstar Cruises also runs turnaround departures from the harbour later in the season, including sailings by Star Legend.
Dún Laoghaire ferry port: why there’s no ferry here now
If you’re expecting a scheduled ferry from Dún Laoghaire, there isn’t one any more. The Holyhead route that used to sail from here moved to Dublin Port years ago, so what you’re looking at today handles cruise tenders, sailing and an 820-berth marina, the largest in Ireland, rather than passenger ferries.
Things to do on foot from the tender landing
The East Pier is Dún Laoghaire’s best-known landmark, stretching almost a kilometre out into Dublin Bay with views across to the Wicklow Mountains and out over the Irish Sea. It’s flat, easy walking, and just as popular with locals out for their morning stroll as it is with visitors off the ship.
A looped walk from the East Pier round to the West Pier covers about 2.6km in total. Both piers are exposed with next to no shelter, so a women’s rain jacket or similar layer earns its place in the bag even on a bright morning.
The Mariner’s Church now houses the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, a short walk from the pier. Comfortable walking shoes make the piers and the walk into town a lot more pleasant than flat sandals do.
- East Pier and West Pier harbour walk, around 2.6km round trip
- National Maritime Museum of Ireland, housed in the Mariner’s Church
- Dún Laoghaire’s 820-berth marina, the largest in Ireland
- Dún Laoghaire CoCo Market on Sundays, in the park, for artisan crafts and gifts
If you’re combining this with other Irish cruise calls, our Ireland Cruise Ship Port Guide rounds up the rest of the country’s ports.
Common Questions
Is Dún Laoghaire the same as Dublin Port?
No, they’re two separate harbours. Dublin Port sits inside the city and takes ships that can berth directly. Dún Laoghaire Harbour is the tender anchorage further down the coast, used when a ship can’t get a Dublin Port berth.
How long does it take to get from Dún Laoghaire to Dublin city centre?
By DART, it’s usually twenty to thirty minutes to Pearse Street or Tara Street. A taxi takes about the same time but costs a fair bit more.
Is there a shuttle bus from the ship to the pier?
No, and you don’t need one. Shore excursion coaches wait in a compound near the pier on cruise days, and if you’re going it alone, you just walk off the tender and head for the DART station.
Where exactly does the tender land?
That depends on the day. It’s either St Michael’s Wharf or Carlisle Pier, so check with the shore excursion desk or listen for the pre-tender announcement, since the berth used can change between calls.
Can I catch a ferry from Dún Laoghaire?
No. The Holyhead ferry service that used to run from here moved to Dublin Port some years back. Dún Laoghaire today is used for cruise tenders, sailing and its marina.
What’s at Carlisle Pier now?
Mostly a car park, with the odd short-term cargo or cruise berth. It isn’t open as a visitor attraction, whatever the old redevelopment plans once promised.
Does Dún Laoghaire operate all year round for cruise ships?
It’s mainly used in the summer season, roughly May to July, when Dublin-bound ships are most likely to be too large, or too frequent, for Dublin Port alone.
What should I do if the DART is too crowded to board?
Wait it out with a walk along the East Pier, or take a taxi or one of the 7A, 7C or 7D buses instead. Trains run often enough that the next one won’t be far behind.
Why Trust About2Cruise
This guide draws on published port operator notices, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s cruise schedule information and official Irish port traffic statistics from the Central Statistics Office, cross-checked against each other wherever they disagreed, as they do on points like the exact tender berth. Read more about the About2Cruise team and how we put our port guides together.
Last Updated: 19 October 2026