Massive cruise ship Britannia sails into Forth

The luxury liner Britannia. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

A gigantic luxury liner carrying more than 5000 people became a temporary landmark on the city skyline when it anchored in deep water off Newhaven.

Regular 20-minute tenders from the £473 million ship to the harbour saw hundreds of passengers disembark to explore the Capital’s sites on Wednesday.

The P&O Britannia was in Edinburgh for a day trip on her maiden voyage around the British Isles, described as a “lap of honour”.

Weighing at 141,000 tons – 25,000 more than any other vessel in the fleet – it is the largest cruise ship in Britain.

Britannia’s arrival was made possible after hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment by Forth Ports to dredge and deepen the seabed.

“Having an anchorage point this close to Edinburgh helps us to attract the big liners and this is a fantastic

opportunity for us,” said Robert Mason, head of cruise at Forth Ports Ltd.

As the market for luxury cruises grows, Forth Ports have had eight bookings, two for 2016 and six for 2017, with the visits expected to bring in “millions of pounds” for the city’s tourist economy.

Inside the Britannia. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Essentially a floating holiday resort complete with swimming pools, shops, bars and restaurants, Britannia has 17 decks to explore. Visitors said they could easily forget they were at sea until they lo