When hearing the words 'cruise liner' most people picture the Caribbean, shuffle board, or cocktails with little umbrellas in them. Perhaps they then muse upon Poirot investigating a murder on the Nile or poor, frozen Leo desperately scrabbling at the edge of the floating door hogged by greedy old Kate Winslet.
You may be surprised then to learn that little old Orkney is expecting SEVENTY THREE cruise liners this Summer with a record FOUR vessels all stopping in Kirkwall on August the 18th!
A timetable of these visits is published each year in the Orcadian and a copy is kept by the till of most shops and public buildings in the town.
We do not put on anything special for cruise visitors in the archive but it helps to be poised for the days when there are more tourists than regular inhabitants on the streets. We like to have maps handy for giving directions and lists of eateries memorised in order of distance from archive, price and quality of cake.
We are often visited by voyagers who have family connections to Orkney and are wishing to explore this link. As delighted as we are to help, let one point be made; while it is incredibly flattering that some optimistic visitors think us capable of compiling a family tree in just 5 minutes, without any supporting dates or documentation, sadly our skills do not extend that far. Any genealogical visitors may get on a bit better with a birth date or two and perhaps at least an hour to spare.
Damn you, BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' and damn you again!
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