The new Venice? Huge cruise ships could invade Thames in two years as new passenger terminal planned for Greenwich

The new Venice? Huge cruise ships could invade Thames in two years as new passenger terminal planned for Greenwich

• By CHRIS KITCHING FOR MAILONLINE

• It is hoped the new terminal would open in 2017 at Enderby Wharf
• Ships up to 820ft long would stop near the Old Royal Naval College 
• River Thames isn't deep enough to accommodate world's largest ships 
• New plans will be submitted within weeks to Greenwich council

London could soon become a popular destination for large cruise ships if plans for a new passenger terminal in Greenwich move forward.

It is hoped that the mooring at Enderby Wharf would open in 2017 and become the capital’s first new terminal since the closure of the Royal Docks in 1981.

The hub would allow ships up to 820ft long to stop near popular tourist attractions such as the Old Royal Naval College and Cutty Sark, The Times reported.

New plans from Westcourt Real Estate are to be submitted to Greenwich council within weeks and show that the mooring would be used for the start and finish of cruises, the newspaper reported.

Westcourt has not revealed the cost of the new terminal, and lead architect Jonathan Manser said a previous design failed to meet the requirements.

Cruise holiday searches see 66% upsurge, finds study

By Travolution

Online searches for cruise holidays in August soared by 66% over levels in May, new research reveals.

Consumers made a total of 2.5 million searches on Google UK for cruises in August, compared to 1.5 million in May.

Cruises to specific destinations made up 12% (289,890) of overall queries.

Independent cruise agent Iglucruise.com was the most visible site for destination-specific queries, attaining a 45% share of visibility in the organic listings, through ranking for 419 keywords. Thomascook.com took second place with 44%.

Vivavoyage.co.uk was the most visible advertiser in the paid listings, achieving a 51% share of voice. Virginholidayscruises.co.uk followed with 37%.

For cruise-related searches overall, Iglucruise.com was also the most visible site in natural search, capturing a 62% share of visibility. In paid listings, cruisecritic.co.uk dominated with 50%.

The cruise sector report by digital marketing agency Greenlight found queries for tourist excursions on the River Thames saw the biggest increase compared to the Caribbean, Mediterranean and the Nile.

Queries for cruises on the Thames totalled 9,900, with searches rising 71% on May’s level, compared to 42% for the Nile and 37% for both the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

At 19,200, cumulative searches for cruises to the Caribbean accounted for the majority of destination-related queries (7%), with the term ‘caribbean cruises’ being the most popular.

The Mediterranean followed at 17,500 (6%), with the terms ‘mediterranean cruise’, and ‘med cruises’ featuring prominently.

In third place was the Nile. Collectively, ‘nile cruise’ and ‘nile cruises’ pulled in 16,500 queries.