Don't you just hate it ...

... when you go to take a picture of the Liverpool historic waterfront, and find someone has parked a boat in the way?

Queen Mary 2 moored in Liverpool

Queen Mary 2 visited Liverpool in September 2011. The original Queen Mary was registered in Liverpool, but never visited, as the 39' draught was too deep, whereas the Queen Mary 2, registered at the time in Southampton (subsequently registered in Bermuda to allow for weddings to take place on board), despite being over half as large again, has a draught of only 33'.

The Red Ensign - no longer flying on the stern of the Queen Mary 2

The time window for coming in to the estuary is quite tight, but when the tide is right, it allows a liner or cruise ship enough time for passengers to spend most of the day in the city.

Coming in

The best views of the ships using the cruise terminal in front of the City's historic waterfront can be obtained from Egremont Promenade, between Seacombe Ferry Terminal and New Brighton.

Queen Mary 2 and Liverpool Waterfront

From the Woodside Ferry Terminal in Birkenhead, or even better from the tower of Birkenhead Priory, the ship sits beside the Historic Waterfront and the newer buildings to the north.

Large passenger ships should become more frequent visitors, as the City Council has agreed to repay government grants used constructing the cruise terminal, to allow cruises to start and end in Liverpool. The money needs to be repaid, as, under European Union rules, it counts as illegal state aid. The rationale is that allowing cruises to start and end in Liverpool, giving people in the North a convenient location to start their holidays instead of going to Southampton, and allowing people to stay in Lancashire and Cheshire before starting their cruises only benefits Liverpool, and is therefore not allowed. On the other hand, only allowing ships to stop for long enough for a day in Liverpool City Centre benefits the whole region, and is allowed. No, I do not understand either.

Still, there will soon be the romance of people striding across the gangplank, high above the water, on to the promenade deck, on their way to exotic destinations. Well, not quite, the way on board puts function very much ahead of form these days.