Following a record-breaking year, Liverpool Cruise Terminal is anticipating another bumper season in 2015 with 80,000 passengers expected to pass through the port.
A number of large ships from major cruise companies will make their debut on the Mersey next years as 54 ships are anticipated. This represents a slight increase on the 50 ships which have visited the port in 2014.
P&O’s upcoming vessel, the Britannia, is amongst the ships making its Liverpool debut next year. The cruise liner will become the largest ship calling the UK home when it launches in March, playing host to more than 3,500 passengers. The Royal Princess, famously Christened by the Duchess of Cambridge in 2013, will also be visiting the region for the first time alongside the Celebrity Silhouette and Pullmantur Horizon.
One of the highlights of the year will be the congregation of the Cunard fleet to celebrate the line’s 175th anniversary. On 25 May, the Queen Mary 2 will be joined by the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria in a special celebration.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, enthused: “To have the three Cunard Queens back in their spiritual home on our beautiful waterfront will be nothing short of majestic. The growth of cruise calls is driven by a combination of factors, predominantly our city centre location and the sheer choice of quality experiences on the doorstep and in the surrounding region. This has again been underlined with Liverpool being named by the industry as the UK Port of Call for the second year in succession.”
Images courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons. Credit: John Hickey-Fry
