Is The Tide Turning? Is It Good News For Northern Cruisers!

After the overwhelming success of the Three Queens earlier in the year, where over a million people descended on the Liverpool waterfront. It is estimated there is set to be a 12% increase in passengers numbers this year from Liverpool, whilst Southampton passengers dropped by 100,000 in the last year. On top of this, it’s been announced that Hull will get a new cruise terminal and riverside berth as part of a project that could attract could attract £1 billion in investment and potentially create 7,500 jobs. 

At the moment Southampton accounts for nearly 70% of the UK cruise trade and take into to account that you have also Harwich, Dover and Tilbury all on the South Coast, it seems a bit unfair that the rest of the UK is not getting a fair share of this lucrative market. For example with the increase of cruise ships and passengers there will be still only 80,000 passengers travelling from Liverpool compared to 1.6 million passengers from Southampton.

It just seems to me that everything is always centred around London and the South. Whilst you have got a city like Liverpool that not only has the maritime history, but has got the attraction of the Beatles, Liverpool football club and  Manchester United football club only 20 miles down the road. There is also the world famous British Open Golf tournaments that have been held at Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham & St. Annes. The Cruise Terminal in Liverpool is just a few steps away from the magnificent Cunard Building, one of Liverpool’s world-famous Three Graces. It makes Liverpool one of the few ports in the world where cruise ships can dock right in the city, in this case within easy walking distance of the cafes, restaurants, bars and museums in the restored Albert Dock.

Other evidence proves that cruising is not just a southern thing with the North West of England being the second highest region of people that travel on cruises, Scotland is fourth, Yorkshire and Humberside fifth and West Midlands sixth. Then you have the area of London that accounts for 13% of the UK population but only accounts for 2% of the UK cruise market which means it comfortably has the lowest penetration rate of any other UK region.

Will it happen? Are you happy travelling to Southampton? Are there any other ports that you would rather use?