Princess Cruises cruise ship the 144,000 tons Enchanted Princess is making an unscheduled cruise call here next Monday.

The mega cruise ship will anchor in the bay due to her a enormous size, from where passengers will be tendered ashore to the County wharf. The weather forecast for Monday is light northerly winds but the burning question is whether or not there will be a residual easterly swell to hamper the operation or even cancel it.

The 144,000 ton behemoth is one of six “Royal Class” ships built in Italy. At 330 metres in length she will be the largest cruise ship to anchor off Falmouth. The major cruise lines normally resist tendering operations as the logistics involved and time taken to move passengers can be a nightmare for the ship to co-ordinate and sail on time, especially if coach excursions are delayed by traffic.

It is unknown how many passengers are onboard but the ship has a capacity for 3,600 and 1,400 crew. Most companies are restricting passenger numbers due to Covid. Princess has a strict health protocol in operation with all crew and passengers being vaccinated and regular testing is carried out.

The £600million ship is currently on her “Copenhagen to Southampton” cruise. Her penultimate port was Portland Port but this has been cancelled with the ship now rescheduled for Falmouth.

Falmouth's Business Improvement District (BID) manager Richard Wilcox described it as a "very positive move," adding: "It should provide a significant business boost to add to the [bank holiday] weekend.

"There will be a lot of work going on behind the scenes, as there always is, to ensure that we provide a fantastic Falmouth welcome and experience to all."

He said the ship should be anchoring from around 7am and departing at around 6pm, with the first passengers likely to come into town from 8.30am onwards, although he stressed the visit was weather dependent.

Facilities onboard include a mini golf course, sports court, casino, various pools, restaurants and onboard entertainment.

The Cruise Critic website gives the ship a five star rating for entertainment, saying: “On most days, Enchanted Princess' vibrant multilevel Piazza serves as a hub of activity. In the morning, guests gather at the International Cafe for coffee and snacks and genial conversation with other passengers. During the day, you might catch a little light music, like a steel band playing or musical trio, and this continues into the evening.

"The other daytime hotspot is Princess Live, a large venue with a stage and video screen. During the day, you might enjoy dance lessons or participate in trivia sessions. Enchanted Princess also has a good lineup of enrichment lectures, and many are hosted here.”

Enchanted Princess went into service in 2021 when Princess Cruises Commodore Nick Nash, who hails from Cornwall, took command of the vessel from the Italian builder’s yard of Fincantieri.

Living near Penzance, Captain Nick Nash joined Princess Cruises in 1989 and has since been in command of more than half of the ships in the line’s fleet, including the 3,560-guest Royal Princess which he currently commands.

He was promoted to Staff Captain in 1997 and Captain in 2002 and served as Fleet Captain in 2014 and 2015. He was appointed President of The Nautical Institute in 2018, pledging to help in its efforts to improve standards of ship handling, as well as navigation bridge resource management. He has been awarded the United Kingdom’s Merchant Navy Medal for meritorious service.