Harwich port to welcome cruise ships?

A major upgrade of facilities at Harwich International Port may make it an alternative to Southampton and Dover for smaller cruise vessels – the £2 million passenger walkway at the ferry terminal can now take passengers from the Departure Building to the seventh level deck of the Stena ferries which use the port, and that suggests the smaller cruise liners could be just as easily accommodated at the dock. Chris Lewis, chief executive Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, said, ‘Harwich International Port is one of the UK's major gateways for cruise and ferry tourism, and we are optimistic that the 2008 season will be amongst our best ever.’ A record number of cruise calls, seventy in total, have been scheduled for Harwich this year, with approximately 135,000 passengers set to arrive and explore the beauties of Essex as well as travelling on to visit Cambridge and London. Harwich is ideally placed to offer homeporting to Baltic and Norwegian Fjord-bound cruises.