Welcome to first floating palace

Sep 10 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

WITH clockwork precision, Seven Seas Voyager yesterday became the first vessel to arrive at Liverpool’s stunning cruise liner terminal.

Without any pomp and ceremony, the 700-passenger award-winning “Rolls Royce” of the oceans docked along the £19m landing stage at 8am in an operation that went without a hiccup

Norwegian captain Dag Dvergastein was delighted his vessel was part of the city’s maritime history.

“Few cities in the world have arrival points in the heart of the city. You think of Sydney, Manhattan, Venice and now Liverpool. This is going to make a big difference for Liverpool and the cruise industry,” said the master who had brought the liner overnight from Dublin.

Californian Suzy Stevenson and Helen Harrison, from Sheffield, were the first passengers to set foot on the new landing stage at Princes Dock.

Ms Stevenson, heading for an excursion bus, said: “This is going to be incredibly important for Liverpool. Being able to step of a boat in the heart of a city like Liverpool is going to attract a lot of American tourists. We’re delighted to be on the first boat to come here.”

Dozens of passengers, some still in their dressing gowns and sleeping clothes, watched the arrival from their balconies or the upper deck of the 11-level boat.

Keith Duncan, from Detroit, sporting a Liverpool FC shirt, soaked up the atmosphere from his balcony as he arrived in the home of his soccer heroes.

His parents were originally from Burnley but he has been a lifelong Liverpool fan.

“I support them because, when I was a boy, they were the only team shown on television,” he explained.

On Saturday, Mersey river pilot John Curry headed to Dublin to board the Voyager. With almost 40 years experience of the Mersey, he is an expert in tidal conditions in the river, and wanted to ensure the master and his crew were fully briefed for their arrival in Liverpool.

At the same time, contractors were putting the finishing touches to the terminal. It was finally handed over, shipshape and ready for use at 6.50pm on Saturday night.

At 4am, after three hours sleep, Angela Redhead, the city council’s cruise liner manager arrived for what was to be one of the most important days of her life in the cruise industry.

She was joined by a whole squad of people necessary to make it a successful debut for the new terminal: the port police, officials from Mersey Ferries and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, the harbour master, and the landing crew rope handling company, Gordon Allinson.

Visitors were greeted with efficient airport-style security, with body searches and X-ray machines for belongings.

Around 7am, the Voyager appeared on the horizon for the final leg to one of the most historic waterfronts in the world.

The two escorting tugs, Thorngarth and Svitzer Stanlow, gave a salute using high-power water cannons.

Voyager was due to dock at 8am, and to the chiming bells from the Royal Liver Building, she arrived on time. Even the bells in the seafarers’ church of St Nicholas were ringing.

Early last night, Voyager left Liverpool and headed for Cork. Today, a second visitor, German cruise liner Deutschland, arrives in Liverpool at 6am for a two-day visit.

Then, on September 21, the Queen Elizabeth 2 arrives for what will mark the official opening ceremony.

Ms Redhead was delighted with how the first arrival had gone.

“Everybody has pulled out all the stops to make sure we got it right, and it has worked so well. There are so many people to thank and they have all been fantastic. This is a great day for our city.”

Mr Curry, who has safely helped more than 5,500 ships to arrive in the Port of Liverpool, said the arrival could not have been smoother. “We learned a lot and will get it even better next time, but the Voyager handled superbly and she was a dream to bring in. It is so good to be part of our history today.”

Peter Hester, operations manager for the new terminal, works with Mersey Ferries in his day job. The ex-Royal Navy engineer from Woolton helped Merseytravel win the contract to manage the terminal facilities, working alongside the IoM Steam Packet Company.

His eventual dream is for a new Mersey Ferry landing stage linked to the new facility that will produce a berth 2,000 ft long.

Add airport-style travelators and passengers could step ashore directly in front of the Three Graces.

On the immaculate bridge of the Voyager, Master Dvergastein said: “We only found out a few days ago that we would be using the new terminal, and that we would be the first to use it. The honour of naming it will go to the QE2 and that is only right. Whenever we pass the QE2, we always give her a salute out of respect for such a grand lady.

“The benefits of this new fac- ility will be enormous. Passen- gers want to be able to walk down a gangplank off the ship and arriving in the heart of a great city will be incredible, looking at your wonderful arch- itecture and historic waterfront.”

larryneild