manchester ship canal cruise 2023

Manchester Ship Canal Cruise Mersey Ferries

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Manchester Ship Canal Cruise Mersey Ferries - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Manchester Ship Canal

• Detailed Overview
• Tour Itinerary
• Pick-up Points
• Departure Dates

Enjoy a relaxing day out cruising along the historic Manchester Ship Canal. As you travel along the canal, take in some spectacular scenery and enjoy a lively commentary from the on-board Blue Badge Guide telling the story of how this magnificent waterway shaped the city of Manchester and the North West of England. The cruise will pass through locks and bridges that have remained largely unchanged since their construction over 100 years ago, and show you some of the region's most stunning architectural and natural sights.

The Manchester Ship Canal Cruise by Mersey Ferries will sail from Liverpool and the Wirral, travel along the captivating Manchester Ship Canal to the historic Latchford Locks and back, giving you the opportunity to experience a round-trip in the same day.

INCLUDED IN THIS TRAVEL PACKAGE

Mersey Ferries Manchester Ship Canal Cruise

Return coach travel from your local pick up point

Please CLICK HERE to view the booking conditions for ou r day excursions

Travel Arrangements

We travel to Birkenhead where we board a Mersey Ferries boat to begin our Manchester Ship Canal cruise. Relax as you travel under bridges mostly unchanged since they were built over 125 years ago and experience the rich legacy of Victorian architecture and engineering masterpieces like the Grade II listed Runcorn Rail Bridge and the Latchford High Level Bridge. At Latchford Locks the ferry will turn and start the return journey back to Liverpool and Wirral. As you sail back along the canal, through Eastham Locks into the River Mersey, you will get a breath-taking view of the Mersey Estuary and Liverpool's UNESCO World Heritage Waterfront in the distance. Enjoy the incredible panoramic views of the stunning coastline, Liverpool's famous skyline and historic buildings. The cruise will last between 5-6 hours and upon your return to Birkenhead, our coach will be waiting to commence the return journey home.

Below is a list of pick-up points available on this tour.

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Pick-up Point Times

To make an online booking, please first select the number of passengers required in the dropdown menu below, then click the shopping trolley icon in the Book Now column. If the shopping trolley icon is unavailable, online booking is not currently available for this departure. Please call our reservations team on 01286 675175 or use the Call Back facility and a member of our team will be happy to assist.

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Manchester Ship Canal Cruises

2023 Manchester Ship Canal Cruise season now on sale! The round-trip cruise will sail from Liverpool and Wirral, travel along the captivating Manchester Ship Canal to the historic Latchford Locks and back, giving you the opportunity to experience a round-trip in the same day! Relax as you travel under bridges mostly unchanged since they were built over 125 years ago and experience the rich legacy of Victorian architecture and engineering... more

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• Country England
• Region North West England
• Destination Merseyside
• Provided by Visit Liverpool

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Explore Manchester’s canals on a city cruise

Manchester, salford, trafford and beyond.

Choose from one of the city’s sightseeing cruises and get ready to discover Greater Manchester and its industrial history by boat.

Manchester is surrounded by miles of canals and waterways, built during England’s Industrial Revolution to allow coal to be transported into the heart of this great Northern city. Jump on board the City Centre Cruise from the docks at Castlefield Basin and watch Manchester, Trafford Park and Salford glide past you as you sail along the Manchester Ship Canal, Bridgewater Canal and River Irwell. You’ll see the MediaCityUK development site, the Imperial War Museum North and Old Trafford – home to Manchester United Football Club – as your boat navigates the locks and docks of Britain’s first canal. Those with time to spare can also experience Mersey Ferries’ Manchester Ship Canal Cruise, connecting the cities of Manchester and Liverpool along a 35 mile (56km) stretch of canal. The cruise lasts 6 hours and includes a fascinating commentary, departing from Salford Quays. Manchester is 2 hours 10 minutes from London by train.

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River Cruise in Salford

Salford quays river cruise (1 hour).

Manchester Sightseeing Cruises - Princess Katherine

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Relax with a River and Canal Cruise between Salford Quays and Manchester City Centre.

Enjoy a relaxing boat trip as you cruise the historic ship canal and river irwell from the former manchester docks, now known as salford quays, to manchester city centre and return..

Board the Princess Katherine and listen to the onboard commentary as you enjoy this Manchester boat trip between Salford Quays and the city centre for a 60-minute boat trip. There are refreshments available to purchase onboard.

Cruise highlights En route, see the Victoria & Albert Hotel, formerly a 19th-century riverside warehouse, George Stephenson’s 1830 Railway bridge and the striking new 2017 Ordsall Chord Bridge. Look out for the former Pomona Docks and Old Trafford football stadium, home to the world-famous Manchester United. At Salford Quays, admire the impressive glass and steel buildings of Media City including the ITV Studios which produce the long-running TV series ‘Coronation Street’. Don’t miss the BBC Studios, the Imperial War Museum North, Lowry Theatre and Gallery, the Millennium Bridge and striking new stylish apartment blocks.

Timings  Regular* departures from Pier 8, which is next to The Lowry Theatre. Boarding is from the Lowry side of the Quays, beneath the Millennium footbridge. Look out for the Manchester River Cruise flags on the riverside path that mark the boarding point.

The Salford Quays boarding point is at Pier 8, which is beneath the Millennium footbridge, behind The Lowry theatre.

Pier 8 The Quays Salford M50 3AZ

The nearest car park to the boarding point is the Lowry Outlet multi-storey car park, M50 3AH.

The boat docks at in Manchester city centre at Ralli Quay, opposite the People’s History Museum and the Dockyard Pub.

* check river cruise website for latest sailing timetables, availability and latest information.

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Child (2-15 years)

DEPARTURE AND BOARDING POINTS

Boarding is from Pier 8, beneath the Millennium footbridge, behind The Lowry theatre.

Departure from Salford Quays: 11:30 12:45 14:00 15:15

Optional drop off  in Manchester city centre: 12:15 13:30 14:45 16:00

Cruise ends Salford Quays: 12:45 14:00 15:15 16:00

Please ensure you arrive at least five minutes before stated departure time; the Princess Katherine cannot return to the quay once departed.

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Click on the button below to visit our booking website and book tickets.

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Sea cruise calendar

The sea cruise calendar lists all the information about the arrival and departure of the cruise ships at Cruise Port Amsterdam

The terminal of Cruise Port Amsterdam is an all year round destination. In this calendar you’ll find all the information regarding the arrival and departure dates.

The times of arrival and departure are specified by the agent as a guideline, this is not fixed and could be changed at any time. Cruise Port Amsterdam attempts to keep the calendar up to date. However you should always check, the most up to date information with your booking agency, before departure.

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09:00 - 18:00 uur Departure: 17 Sep

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Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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• Cruise with Father Christmas
• Bar on Board
• Groups allowed

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Description

Santa is giving up his sleigh for the isabella this christmas.

Come and take a Santa Cruise on the Manchester Ship Canal this Winter with the chance to meet Father Christmas. As he brings a bit of his grotto on board. We will be departing from Salford Quays down the historic ship canal as where guests will have the chance to meet Santa while taking in the views along Manchester’s main waterway.

What’s include

An hour long trip departing from Salford Quays with Father Christmas and his elves.

• Mulled wine & mince pies for adults
• Cookie and juice drink for children
• Chance to meet Santa Claus and have a gift from his grotto
• The activities and gifts are aimed at 2 – 10 years but big kids are welcome.
• Adult participation is required – this is a Chief Elf Tilly rule.

The vessel has two toilets located at the aft of the vessel as well as fully stocked bar.

Accessibility

Unfortunately the vessel is not equipped to handle wheelchairs, there is one step up and four steps down in order to board the vessel. Any buggies will need to be folded before boarding the vessel. 

The vessel has booth seating for four to six to a table, we allocate seats based on your ticket, if joining another group please let us know by email. Families may be required to share a table.

Pick up and Drop off

Santa will be landing his sleigh, on the Isabella from Salford Quays , M50 3AZ. The boat will be moored under the Millennium Footbridge at the back of the Lowry Theatre.

https://goo.gl/maps/1zQRunVLvpvHZouCA

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adult tickets include mulled wine, tea or coffee and mince pie child tickets include gift from Father Christmas, cookie and cordial drink infant tickets include gift from Father Christmas, infants may be required to sit on an adults lap. Cancellation Policy: Tickets are non-refundable if cancelled with 5 days of your booking.