Cruise ship brings tourists to heart of Liverpool

May 21 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

THE first cruise liner of the season was welcomed to the new £17m landing stage at Liverpool docks yesterday.

Former dock workers lined the Pier Head to welcome the German ship Astor as it cruised into the Mersey carrying 600 passengers.

She spent the day docked in Liverpool as passengers shopped in the city and took trips to Chester, and round Liverpool’s Beatles story museum.

Astor, which left the city last night, was the first of 16 vessels already booked for the summer season. Passenger spending in the city is expected to boost the economy by some £3m.

Keith Blundell, head of tourism at Liverpool Culture Company said: “It’s very exciting because it’s our first full year of operation.

“The ship is obviously the attraction, but more and more cruise companies are using destinations and ports of call as selling points and that is what is attracting people to them.”

The ship season will culminate with a visit from the QEII and the Balmoral as well as the Grand Princess, a 2,600 passenger American liner, bumping the total estimate of passengers visiting the city to more than 23,500.

A council spokesman said: “At this rate the terminal could pay for itself within the next seven years.”