Falmouth lost an estimated £100,000 in revenue, sparking renewed calls for dredging the harbour, after the biggest cruise visitor of the season failed to disembark any passengers on Monday morning.

The Norwegian Star, carrying more than 2,000 holidaymakers and 1,000 crew, was forced to abandon its scheduled stop after heavy swell meant it would be too dangerous to tender passengers from ship to shore.

Now many in the local community are saying that if the harbour channel had been dredged, the ship would have been able to berth safely, and action is being urged to prevent the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Cornish economy.

Phil Boddy, secretary of voluntary group Falmouth Cruise Ship Ambassadors, which had 28 coaches ready on Friday to take visitors on trips around Cornwall, said: "If the dredging had been done none of this would have happened. Twenty eight tour buses would have left the dock side and gone to all parts from Falmouth, probably 1,000 passengers would have walked into town and spent so much money."

He added: "If the dredging had been done we would get this type of ship possibly once a week, the revenue that would bring, to the county and the town, would be absolutely amazing.

"It just shows how stupid this problem is, to delay the dredging."

Stephen Woodcock, the owner of gift store Bow, called in staff to open his business early for the day in the expectation of plenty of extra business.

He said: "We were expecting the cruise ship to come in, we arranged to come in early so that we were one of the shops that was definitely open for the passengers, and we were very disappointed when that didn't happen.

"It was big from out point of view but also from the wider economy's point of view. It's not just Falmouth that's affected but the whole of Cornwall."

He added that after being unable to disembark passengers in previous years, there had been no big American cruise ships scheduled for Falmouth this year, and possibly next year, and said he worried that after Monday more large ships would do the same.

Richard Gates, Falmouth town manager, said: "If the channel had been dredged then the ship would have been able to come alongside the quay, disembarking over 2,000 passengers into Falmouth and the rest of Cornwall. "It’s certainly disappointing - given that the average day spend of a cruise passenger is £90 then the economic benefits are significant.

"Cruise ship visits are hugely welcomed and should always be viewed as a positive addition to normal trade and as a Town Team we encourage businesses to do as much as possible to maximise the opportunity as and when it occurs."

With an estimated 50/50 split between cruise passengers staying in Falmouth for the day and those visiting other parts of Cornwall, the loss of the Norwegian Star visitors cost Falmouth an estimated £90,000 in tourist spending, plus around £30,000 in revenue related to bringing in the ship.

The greater Cornish economy will have lost roughly £90,000 as well - adding up to more than £200,000 in total.

Mark Sansom, chief executive and harbour master at Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, recognised that many cruise ships are too large to come into the harbour to berth alongside the quays, and that there had been "a significant reduction" in cruise ships willing to ferry passengers ashore or to schedule a visit "due to the unpredictability of the weather."

He said: "Falmouth Harbour Commissioners continues to work closely with public and private sector partners on the proposal to dredge and this incident reaffirms the need to dredge an improved approach channel so we can welcome large passenger vessels such as Norwegian Star into the harbour."

Sarah Newton, MP for Truro and Falmouth, said it was "very disappointing news," and that she would do all she could to support A&P and the Falmouth Harbour Commissioners to enable the dredging of the channel.

She said: "I have been reassured that the necessary environmental consents should be granted shortly and a business case for securing the funding for the dredging is being developed."