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[ChasB46]

Is Liverpool closer to becoming a cruise turnaround port? The up to £9million sweetener to the Govt. may help. Just Europe Commission £8.6 million to sort out and the cruise ships.BBC News today  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16867173

[Kelvin Davies]

Chas,
Short answer; Yes! Even the (expletive deleted) in charge of Southampton council says he is "content".
I do think it is about time Peel Holdings put their hands in their pockets though.
My Dad took a cruise once that began in Liverpool.
That was on the Reina Del Pacifico in October/November 1942!
Kelvin

[ChasB46]

Hi Kelvin, as I know you are aware Southampton City is shooting itself through the foot as it takes a cruise passenger as long to get through Southampton road system into docks to terminals as it does to drive from Birmingham to Southampton. Liverpool could only benefit from this Southampton chaos of getting to the terminals past the "jobsworths" at the gates.

[ChasB46]

Forgot to add the game of count the traffic lights you need to cross in Southampton.

[Mike]

We have 16 individual cruise ships due into the Tyne between April and October plus many also doing multiple trips making 38 in all.

[davaar]

Lets hope they rub Southampton's face in it!
Remember you can jump a Pendalino at Euston and be in Liverpool in not much more time than it takes to get to Southampton. A 5 min cab ride from Lime St and hey presto.
Also on Liverpool's doorstep is a huge market largely unexploited by the cruise industry.
With a passage time to a first port of call in Portugal say, what, half a day more than from Southampton? And with a slick boarding process, they could soon make the money they're being forced to shell out back!
Good luck to them.

[ChasB46]

I understand that many of the present cruise lines using Southampton have 20 year or so contracts so Liverpool may have to attract new ships rather than divert Southampton's.

[FaithJ]

Lets hope they rub Southampton's face in it!

Steady on! Well, as someone who lives fairly close to Southampton, I don't!

Who says that Liverpool will (or can) take business away from Southampton? I would think that the smaller ports such as the Tyne would suffer more. The unseemly row between Southampton and Liverpool has got out of hand stoked, it is probably fair to say, by the local media.

ChasB46 - To say that getting into the city and to where the ships are takes as long as getting from Birmingham to Southampton is stretching it a bit. It's not *quite* that bad, certainly outside of the rush hours, but I agree that there are ridiculous amounts of traffic lights through the city (am I right in thinking it's the most traffic light-infested city in the country, if not Europe?) and watch out for the speed cameras on the way in - don't ever be in a hurry to catch a cruise ship or ferry if you're held up by those lights! My mum got done for speeding through Southampton on her way to catch a Red Funnel ferry back to the Isle of Wight, a few years ago, and I have missed ferries myself. Not condoning my mum's speeding, I hasten to add!  

[davaar]

Lets hope they rub Southampton's face in it!

Steady on! Well, as someone who lives fairly close to Southampton, I don't!

Sorry! Got a bit carried away - but Liverpool deserves a break.
It's a bit like a re-run of the 1910s/20s when Southampton stole/attracted Liverpool's transatlantic trade with White Star first then Cunard moving their express runs there.

[Dr. Allan Ryszka-Onions]

hello davaar,

Why the hell does Liverpool need break?

I was under the impression Scousers normally take what they want anyway.  Cruise ships hang on to your anchors and lifeboats !!

Allan

[davaar]

hello davaar,

Why the hell does Liverpool need break?

I was under the impression Scousers normally take what they want anyway.  Cruise ships hang on to your anchors and lifeboats !!

Allan

Hi Allan

I have to state first of all I'am not a Scouser, however Liverpool is one of my favourite English cities.
I think any reasonable person would have to accept the bias in infrastructure spending between London/Southern England and those points north, this is most obvious in the field of public transport.
10s of £Billions for Crossrail, Thameslink, HS1 and umpteen other schemes YES!, a few measly £100ms for a modest light rail scheme on Merseyside NO! with the result that transport infrastructure across most of the North of England and indeed in the UK outside of the south east (with a few exceptions) is well below other northern European countries.
So the spectacle of a region like Merseyside being screwed out of a few millions by central govt in order that they can fully exploit the infrastrucure they have whilst millions are being spent daily by the same govt on huge schemes in the south is a bit sickening.

[Kelvin Davies]

Well said Davaar!
As for Dr Onions; well, he is nowadays a southern softy but has roots "up north"!
Mind you, it needs a length of electric flex and a strong arm to get him to admit it!
Never mind, I shall catch up with him next time I am home and we meet at Calshot.
I shall steal his car! Just so he can say "Told you so!".
Look out, Allan!
Kelvin (a Wirral exile)

[Jon Godsell]

hello davaar,

Why the hell does Liverpool need break?

I was under the impression Scousers normally take what they want anyway.  Cruise ships hang on to your anchors and lifeboats !!

Allan

Hi Doctor of whatever,

All we need is a level playing field and an end to outdated smart botty remarks such as yours; should you continue in this vain, I feel that you will find your onions being fried to a deep golden brown and served with a juicy fillet steak, mmmmm.  

With absolutely no regards whatsoever,

Scouse.

[Dr. Allan Ryszka-Onions]

Well Jon

Talking of level playing fields......Southampton developed its cruise terminals with its own money and did not need to go cap in hand begging for loans to the Government and EU.  So I suggest level playing fields are something you should perhaps research more fully before making any further ccomments.   It's a totally different thing to receive a subsidy to build a terminal, then ask for a change of use, and then say we'll pay back the subsidy from our new found profits.   If that constitutes a level playing field then the rules must have changed somewhat. 

Or is this another example of the famed Scouse sense of humour.  Oh, and will the fillet steak be knock-off as well ??

Allan

[Dr. Allan Ryszka-Onions]

Kelvin,

et tu Brute.......

I really must buy myself a set of wheel clamps before I venture down the A326 again

Allan

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