Party fit for a Queen and a Princess

A THREE-DAY street party with music food and fireworks is to be staged at Princes Dock to mark the visit of two huge cruise liners and to cheer everyone up.

The free-for-all event welcomes the Ruby Princess and Cunard's Queen Victoria cruise liners to the World Heritage Site. Is being organised by Peel Holdings, Liverpool City Council and SK events, which runs the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival.

It all gets under way on the evening of Thursday May 29, with the arrival up the Mersey of the first of those boats and will feature American-themed food from city restaurants, “high-quality musical entertainment” and, of course, loads of things that go whizz bang in the night.

Opera

The next evening (Friday May 30) it's the turn of the Queen Victoria, the third in Cunard’s “grand trio” of express liners, to sail into the river. She is here marking the exact 100th anniversary of the Liverpool-New York maiden voyage of RMS Aquitania (May 30, 1914). 

The Queen will be berthed for two days and Cunard will hold a firework display over the river at around 10:45pm on Friday. The liner departs on Saturday 31 May and will be serenaded by opera singer Danielle Thomas at 4pm. 

It's a big bugger: Ruby Princess sails in on Thursday

Ian Pollitt of Peel Holdings, owners of the Liverpool Waters site, said: “To witness the majesty of modern-day cruise liners making their way along the River Mersey and at a berth next to the Three Graces, is a sight to behold. 

“Tens of thousands of people make their way to the waterfront to witness the spectacle and we wanted to make the waterfront even more enjoyable so we have devised the Princes Dock Street Food Party.” 

The event is free to attend.