Liverpool cruise terminal ‘sail-ebrates’ 15th anniversary and £65m economic boost

Liverpool’s cruise terminal is on course to welcome its one millionth international visitor by the end of the 2022 season, as it also gears up to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

The Cruise Liverpool team will mark the milestone with a series of celebrations across 15 days, highlighting the journey Liverpool’s cruise industry has been on since the terminal was officially opened by HRH The Duke of Kent in 2007. In that time the terminal has welcomed more than 700 ships, and boosted the local economy by £65m.

The anniversary celebrations will begin on September 5 with the arrival of Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s Borealis, which will drop anchor to invite special guests on board for a launch event and tour of the ship.

It is the first time a passenger ship in Liverpool has invited non-travelling guests on board since the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be shoreside entertainment by Merseyside drumming group Katumba Drummers as the ship departs.

The 15-day ‘sail-ebration’ will see Liverpool ONE’s ‘Tickle the Ivories’ piano on tour at the Cruise Terminal, with daily entertainment from local musicians, courtesy of Open Culture. A special series of videos has also been commissioned to tell the story of the Cruise Terminal from the perspective of staff, trainees and volunteers.

Three special partnership arrangements will also be announced, which will improve access to careers in the cruise industry, support local tourism and reduce Cruise Liverpool’s carbon footprint.

Councillor Harry Doyle, cabinet member for culture and visitor economy, said: “From the early days of six ships and 6,000 passengers, to the present day, where we have welcomed almost 100 operations and 200,000 passengers in 2022 alone, the ‘sea-change’ has been enormous.

“The cruise terminal has an important role to play in Liverpool’s future, and the next step is to explore how we can grow this future sustainably. We are looking forward to announcing more on this as celebrations get under way.”

John Mawer, Cruise Liverpool’s head of cruise operations, added: “Coming off the back of an extremely challenging two years for Cruise Liverpool and the wider industry as a whole, it’s important that we press pause and take stock of how far we’ve come in the last 15 years.

“Liverpool City Council is in a unique position in owning and running its own cruise terminal. This arrangement paid dividends as we emerged from Covid and, as a team, we worked with colleagues on the community testing programme, ultimately guiding the country and cruise industry on how to ‘reopen’ safely.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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