The sight of some of the world's largest ships off the .
º£½ÇÊÓƵ vessels that are more used to the Caribbean or Mediterranean have been anchored just a few miles offshore in Tor Bay, Lyme Bay and Weymouth, halted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
And with few ports able to accommodate so many gargantuan vessels, or a reluctance by the operators to effectively 'mothball' the boats in cold storage, the vessels are anchored up and ticking over with a skeleton crew of around 150 staff.
Martin Aldridge, Head of Marine at PKF Francis Clark, based in Poole, said: "The vessels are in what is termed warm storage, the liner has been withdrawn from service but it is still operational, in terms of the engines and generators and plumbing systems, all salt water, flushed through every few days to stop them seizing.
"They are operating on a skeleton crew to maintain the boat and keep it in good working order which is much more cost effective than mothballing the boat and all the costs associated with starting everything up again when the time comes."
The Foreign Office is continuing to advise against and major operators have suspended services. and P&O has cancelled all its cruises until .
The industry is said to be worth around $46bn (£37bn) a year and passenger numbers are on the rise from 27 million in 2017 to a predicted 32 million in 2020 - then lockdown hit.
Scenes of the holiday-from- hell for the Covid-infected Diamond Princess back in February has had a chilling effect on passengers.
More than 700 of the 3,711 passengers and crew on board tested positive for Covid-19 after being trapped on board for a month and at least 25 other cruise ships were quarantined including 78 cases on the Grand Princess, which was quarantined off the coast of California.
The industry has been addressing health and safety concerns with more measures in place to ensure safe cruising.
And Mr Aldridge believes that the industry will bounce back though it will take time to see bookings return to pre-Covid 19 levels.
He said: "It all comes down to consumer confidence. I think that people do have short memories and the cruise liners will be doing everything they can in terms of attractive pricing to entice those passengers back.
"Cruising is a colossal sector with billions in revenue a year. If they can survive this then there is still very good business to be had."
In September, a luxury cruise firm .
Businessman James Cole, who has over 20 years in the sector - and is behind brands including Cruise118, Six Star Cruises and River Voyages, said: “The key question I am asked at the moment is why launch during this pandemic, when there are no cruise ships sailing?
"My response is that it’s not about what’s happening today, it’s about what will be happening in three, five or ten years from now, at which time the cruise industry will be bigger, more innovative and even better than it’s ever been.
“I fundamentally believe that Covid-19 has given me a unique opportunity to bring to market a cruise company that is fit for purpose as we enter a new world of cruising.
“I believe without hesitation that the cruise industry will not only recover from this pandemic which will take a significant amount of time, but come back bigger, stronger and better than ever before."
And in Hull, ambitious plans for a cruise terminal are still on the cards despite the travel industry being badly hit.
Garry Taylor, the council’s assistant director for major projects, said it is getting positive noise from the cruise industry, actually now more than ever.
“The expectation coming out of Covid is that most cruise ships are looking to be fully Covid-secure when the industry reopens.
“On a national level, there will be tests for people within 20 minutes at some point and cruise ship operators are already looking at how they will be able to implement that to keep things safe, both in terms of crew and passengers.
“What it actually does mean is that when the cruise liners and companies switch back on, they are looking to do more localised cruises.
“That means more smaller cruises across Europe and around the º£½ÇÊÓƵ while bringing some of their larger ships into that fold."
But there have been casualties. Cruise operator Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) ceased trading in July due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Essex-headquartered firm ran voyages from the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to the Continent and was due to start sailing from Plymouth in 2021, creating a potential economic boost for the city.
But not all has been lost for some canny sightseeing operators.
Mr Aldridge said: "I know, certainly in Dorset where small tour operators have been taking groups out to see the cruise ships at anchor - there have been some winners".
And while cruise ships may be loved by passengers and onlookers, they aren't always so popular at destinations.
They are often blamed for overtourism with not much spend in shops and bars in the ports they visit.
Mr Aldridge said: "Passengers tend to disembark but head back to the boat for meals so they don't spend as much in destination as other visitors who are staying overnight."
And there are environmental concerns too - the cruise ship car park is likely to be having an impact with each idling vessel said to each emit the same level of pollution as 108 trucks.
Mr Aldridge said: "There is still a huge demand for cruises and there is certainly a future but I think that the environmental impact will be a priority in the years to come.
"I know the Irish government is looking at electric ferries and solar panels and I think if those discussions are going on, then there's no reason why that can't happen with the colossal cruise ship industry."
