Cruise captain orders boat load of Greggs for luxury liner

The Captain of a luxury cruise ship, which docked at the Port of Tyne for the first time, made an unusual order in the form of a special delivery from Greggs.

A typical cruise will require as much as 60 tonnes of food-stuffs, including the finest wine, oysters and caviar. On your average 10-night cruise, passengers will eat as many as 35,000 meals or more! As much as 120lbs of lobster and 630 litres of ice cream may be eaten.

But when the 181m long Azamara Journey dropped anchor near Newcastle on 19 August, it was missing some vital ingredients. Greggs Sausage Rolls, Vegan Sausage Rolls and North East favourite – Stottie Cake.

Greggs were contacted by the ship’s Cruise Director, Lee Hetherington from Gateshead, who is very enthusiastic about some of Greggs’ famous menu items. So much so, that Captain Johannes Tysse took the opportunity to order a boat load for the ship’s 700 passengers.

The team at Greggs shop on Newcastle’s Grainger Street were on hand to prepare for the morning delivery which was delivered directly on to the cruise ship in partnership with the Port of Tyne.

Captain Johannes Tysse, said: “On our cruise of Northern Europe passengers will enjoy amazing dining experiences including but our UK crew told us that a visit to Newcastle wouldn’t be complete without a taste of Greggs as a culinary ‘must-try’, that joins the echelons of British food icons alongside Fish & Chips.”

Fiona Mills, Brand Communications Manager for Greggs, said: “It’s no surprise that this is the first time we’ve had a delivery request from a luxury cruise ship, we’re delighted to welcome Azamara to the North East and hopefully we’ve got a few new fans based on the amazing feedback we’ve had from passengers.”

Matt Beeton, Chief Executive Officer Port of Tyne, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Azamara Cruises as we celebrate 20 years of cruising from the Port of Tyne.

“When we heard about a special order from Greggs we were only too happy to help, after all only the best is good enough for the Captains table.”