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City Cruises
City Cruises Page 2: Other Vessels
This
Simplon Postcards
page is one of a series devoted to
River Thames
excursion boats - it is not connected with the boat operator. The Millennium Riverliners in the City Cruises fleet are shown on
City Cruises Page 1
. This page shows photographs of the other vessels in the City Cruises fleet of
Thames
excursion vessels. There is a list of
individual boat pages
. For details of cruises or charters contact:
www.citycruises.com
City Cruises plc is the leading operator of passenger services on the River Thames between Greenwich, the Tower of London and Westminster, carrying some 750,000 people annually on its extensive sightseeing, ferry, entertainment and charter services. The company was formed in the early 1990s when it acquired the interests of many of the operators between Westminster and the Tower, which were then brought together under the City Cruises umbrella. Until this time, every boat was owned independently. The amalgamation into a single large concern has allowed for the generation of investment funds for the development and building of the new Riverliners of the Millennium Class. The first of these,
Millennium of London
, was the first purpose-built sightseeing vessel on the River Thames for 25 years, and to mark the occasion she was named by The Queen at Tower Pier in 1996. She was followed by four further vessels of the slightly modified M2 design, which form the backbone of the primary services between Westminster, The Tower of London and Greenwich. However, an interesting fleet of smaller vessels is available to provide additional services between the Tower of London and Westminster, and smaller charters. The company also markets the moored restaurant ship
Hispaniola
, originally the Caledonian Steam Packet Company's
Maid of Ashton
.
The core of the initial City Cruises fleet in 1989 came from Thames Tripping (Westminster) who supplied
Eltham
,
Westminster
and
Witheycombe
.
Mayflower Garden
came from River Functions (Thames). The various "
Rose
" boats of Thompson Launches joined City Cruises from 1993. The Thompson Brothers had acquired their first boat,
St Patrick
, in 1929, and put her on the Westminster to Tower service. Thompson Launches Ltd was incorporated in 1935. The
Beta III
joined their fleet in 1959 from Jackson Bros. By 1963, the fleet also included
Princess Beatrice, The King
and
Petersham
, from
Thames Launches
, all of which broke adrift in a storm in 1963.
Princess Beatrice
was wrecked beyond repair. Thompson Launches' first "
Rose
", the
Alpha Rose
was built in 1963, followed by
Delta Rose
(1964),
Bertram Rose
(1964),
Eleanor Rose
(1964) and
Princess Rose
(1964), all of which passed to City Cruises in the early 1990s apart from
Alpha Rose
. Thompson Launches also acquired the
Salters
-built
Viscount
in 1971, previously of
Joseph Mears
and
Thames Launches
.
Viscount
joined
Campion Launches
rather than entering the City Cruises fleet. Ex-Portsmoth-Gosport ferries
Vita
and
Ferry Queen
joined City Cruises from
Woods Cruises
and Thames Pleasurecraft in c.1999 and c.1995 respectively. These were the last two traditional ferries built for the Portsmouth-Gosport ferry. Their layout dated back over eighty years, and their lives at Portsmouth were short. Unlike their predecessors, they were diesel powered, along with the 1956
Vesta
, also still running on the Thames as
Duchess M
of the
Tilbury-Gravesend
ferry.
Contact:
www.citycruises.com
Ships on This Page:-
Bertram Rose
- built 1966 - sold 2005
Delta Rose
- built 1964 - sold 2005
Eleanor Rose
- built 1971
Eltham
- built 1978
Ferry Queen
- built 1959
Hispaniola
- moored restaurant ship
Mayflower Garden
- built 1978
Princess Rose
- built 1978
Vita
- built 1959
Westminster
- built 1971
Witheycombe
- built 1970
Ships on
Page 1
:-
Hydrospace Alpha
- (2007- ) ex-Catamaran Cruisers
Hydrospace Delta
- (2007- ) ex-Catamaran Cruisers
Hydrospace Gamma
- (2007- ) ex-Catamaran Cruisers
Millennium City
- Millennium Class M2 Riverliner
Millennium Dawn
- Millennium Class M2 Riverliner
Millennium of London
- Millennium Class M1 Riverliner
Millennium of Peace
- Millennium Class M2 Riverliner
Millennium Time
- Millennium Class M2 Riverliner
City Cruises Pages:-
City Cruises Page 1
- Millennium Riverliners
City Cruises Page 2
- Other vessels
- this page!
City Cruises Page 3
- Greenwich-Tower Pier Cruise
City Cruises Page 4
- Tower Pier-Westminster Cruise
www.citycruises.com
- City Cruises official website
Other Thames Passenger Boat Pages:-
Thames Boats - Header Page
Catamaran Cruisers
Crown River Cruises
Thames Clippers
Thames Passenger Boat Cruise Pages:-
River Thames - Harwich-Southend-Tilbury-Tower Pier
- on
Waverley
River Thames - Gravesend-Chelsea
- on
Princess Pocahontas
River Thames - Greenwich-Tower Pier
- with
Catamaran Cruisers
River Thames - Greenwich-Tower Pier
- with
City Cruises
River Thames - Tower Pier-Westminster
- with
City Cruises
Associated Pages:-
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
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Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards
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Home Page
References:-
Royal River Highway:
Written by Frank L. Dix - published David & Charles 1984
Trip Out Guides
-
Written and published by G.P.Hamer - various editions from 1977 to 2005 consulted
Trip Out Guides are available from Geoffrey Hamer, PO Box 485, Southall, UB1 9BH
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Table of Boat Histories
Name
Other names
Built
Eleanor Rose
1971
Eltham
1978
Ferry Queen
1959
M
ayflower Garden
1978
Princess Rose
1978
Vita
1959
Westminster
1971
Witheycombe
1970
Smaller City Cruises Vessels
Bertram Rose
(Built: 1966 - Sold: 2005)
Bertram Rose
was sold to Keith French of Great River Journeys in 2005, and was based in Wallingford. Great River Journeys are no longer trading.
Bertram Rose
, with
Mayflower Garden
behind.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Delta Rose
(Built: 1964 - Sold: 2005)
Delta Rose
was sold to Keith French of Great River Journeys in 2005, and was based in Wallingford. Great River Journeys are no longer trading.
Photographs: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Eleanor Rose
(Built: 1971)
More images of
Eleanor Rose
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.
Eleanor Rose
acting as a tender for
HMS Ark Royal
at Greenwich.
Photo: © Ken Simson, 26th February 2004.
Eleanor Rose
acting as a tender for
HMS Ark Royal
at Greenwich.
Photo: © Ken Simson, 26th February 2004.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 7th April 2005.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 31st March 2006
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2006.
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2006.
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 22nd September 2007
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Eltham
(Built: 1978)
More images of
Eltham
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Ferry Queen
(Built: 1959)
Ferry Queen
was originally in service on the
Portsmouth-Gosport
ferry. She was sold to Thames Pleasure Craft, where she ran with the other ex-Gosport ferries
Ferry Prince
and
Ferry Princess
.
Ferry Queen
passed to City Cruises c.1995, and remained in service with them in 2005. She was offered for sale in 2006 and remained at the boatyard in Isleworth.
Vita
saw additional use because of this. However, both
Vita
and
Ferry Queen
saw extensive use on Tower-Westminster circulars in 2007. She was sold for use as a houseboat in 2009 after City Cruises acquired the Hydrospace boats from Catamaran Cruisers.
More images of
Ferry Queen
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
Click to open larger image in new window
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 5th July 2003.
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Mayflower Garden
(Built: 1978)
Mayflower Garden
of 1978 joined the City Cruises fleet from River Functions (Thames).
More images of
Mayflower Garden
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 31st March 2006
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 20th January 2007
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 1st December 2007
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Photo: © Ian Boyle, 1st December 2007
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Princess Rose
(Built: 1978)
More images of
Princess Rose
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.
Vita
(Built: 1959)
Vita
was originally in service on the
Portsmouth-Gostport
ferry. She was the last of the traditional ferries delivered, albeit diesel-powered from the start. She was kept as a spare boat on for seasonal harbour cruises until 1974 after the arrival of the modern
Portsmouth Queen
and
Gosport Queen
in 1966. She was bought by
Woods Cruises
for use on the Thames, passing to
City Cruises
c.1999. She was sold for conversion to a houseboat in 2009.
More images of
Vita
Simplon Postcards issue sp1284 (released November 2006) of
Vita
Photo: © Ian Boyle.
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