Seafaring dynasty

AS long as I can remember big ships have dominated the skyline of Southampton, despite the  seemingly inevitable increasing presence of high-rise apartment and office buildings in the city.
But then for centuries the city has upheld seafaring traditions and although back in the 1600s the Pilgrim Fathers are attributed as having sailed from Plymouth on their voyage to America, their ship Mayflower set sail from Southampton along with a sister ship, the Speedwell which took on water after sailing and both had to put into Plymouth.
Maybe the Mayflower would not have had such a dominating presence on the waterfron in 1620 as the cruise ship MSC Splendida  in port today,  In fact the great North Atlantic passenger ships like the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth would have dominated the waterfront like this, but they did have a majestic presence.
The Splendida in port today, is not the biggest, but it boasts 18 decks, can carry more than 4,300 passengers and has a crew of nearly 1,400. She was built in France, went into service in 2009, and at 333 metres in length, is longer than the Eiffel Tower is high.  It is also home to a spectacular Swarovski staircase in the ship’s foyer.
She is on an eight day voyage of northern Europe with a 12 hour call in Southampton. She sailed early evening for Zeebrugge, Belgium and ends her voyage back in Hamburg on Sunday.