Kate O’Hara, the chief executive of the new London City Cruise Port, told the newspaper that there was “tremendous excitement and interest” from the passenger shipping industry in using the new facility.

Though given recent trails and tribulations concerning large ships in Venice I’m not so sure everyone will share Kate’s and the industry’s enthusiasm.

Take a look at these pictures of Venice, do you think the London skyline will be enhanced with the presence of larger cruise ships?

Currently, there are two moorings for small cruise ships in operation, one a small floating pontoon in Greenwich (Greenwich Ship Tier) and another at Tower Bridge (Tower Bridge Upper). A third option, used by Cruise and Maritime Voyages and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines is Tilbury Docks in Essex, around 20 miles down river.

Originally the idea was to use the new terminal solely as a stopping point, but the latest plans suggest it could be used as a “turnaround” destination, where voyages start and finish. With London already in a state of gridlock a lot of the time I’m not sure how current infrastructure would cope with a massive influx of people to an already very crowded area.

What do you think? A good idea? Or should the big boys stick to Southampton and Dover? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Bye for now.