Cruising into Liverpool
• Cruise Liner season begins in Liverpool
• 15 calls in total for 2011 generating around £6m into local economy
• Queen Elizabeth to make inaugural visit as part of Mersey River Festival
• Crown Princess sails into the city 6am Thursday 26 May
Liverpool's cruise season berths on Thursday, with around 25,000 passengers set to call into the city during an exciting four months of visits.
Kicking off the season will be the arrival of the Crown Princess at 6am on Thursday (26 May). It’s one of the largest ships to arrive in the city with 3,114 passengers.
In total, there will be fifteen visits to the city. Five of the vessels will be making their inaugural trip to Liverpool with two of them making repeat visits during the season (Crown Princess and Blu).
For the first time, the newest luxury ocean liner, the Queen Elizabeth, will sail into the city. Set to arrive on Thursday 8 September, the impressive Cunard ship will signal the start of the new-look Mersey River Festival which returns after a six year break.
And if that wasn’t enough, to close the festival, the breathtaking Queen Mary 2 will arrive on the 15 September.
Other vessels making their city debut include the Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, Germany’s Blu and Mein Schiff and P&O’s Arcadia.
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for culture and tourism, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “The cruise liner industry is vital to the city’s economy, and this season is estimated to bring in around £6 million to the local economy as passengers spend money in our visitor attractions, bars and restaurants.
“We have fantastic feedback from the liner companies who are eager to come to Liverpool because of the warm welcome they receive and the outstanding tourism offer found here.
“And it will be a spectacular sight to see two of the most impressive Cunard liners bookend September’s Mersey River Festival – our iconic waterfront will be bustling and I’m sure thousands of people will head down to take in the free maritime treat!”
The city council is currently in advanced discussions with the government ahead of submitting a report requesting permission to introduce turnaround facilities at the cruise liner terminal. It is hoped an agreement will be reached in the near future.
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