MSC Magnifica

After last week's aborted visit the MSC Magnifica arrived at St Peter Port today to be greeted by some sun and some late 'april showers'. On a silver glittery sea the tenders were busy throughout its short half day visit with many guests taking advantage of shopping in St Peter Port, island tours by taxi, as well as visiting Castle Cornet. The liner is on a cruise from Amsterdam to ports in Germany, Great Britain, France and Belgium. She had sailed over night from Le Havre to Guernsey.

As final embarkation time arrived tenders jostled for space at the liner pontoon and guests boarded under the watchful eyes of the shore party. With a capacity for 3,000 guests every tender was full as they headed back for the 2.00 pm departure time for Zeebrugge, the port for a visit to Bruges.

As guests boarded the tenders they were treated to the rare sight of a Citroen 2CV, the Deux Chevaux, first produced in 1948 in France and finally in 1990 in Portugal. From the early 1960s, an engine size of 600cc became available at extra cost and then stayed unchanged during its remaining production run. A speed of 60mph is attainable in 30 seconds (with a following wind.)