Sparkling moment for cruise ship passengers with visit to Wineglass Bay

CRUISE ship Diamond Princess gave its passengers a memorable trip with a visit to Wineglass Bay.

MUST CREDIT - Stephen Laird A cruise ship enters Wineglass Bay on the Freycinet Peninsular, Tasmania. MUST CREDIT - Stephen Laird

COULD this be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world?

It’s any wonder that the 290m cruise ship Diamond Princess was yesterday seen visiting our Tasmanian jewel — Wineglass Bay — by a savvy Mercury reader.

The ship visited the bay for several hours where it was snapped by Stephen Laird.

The Diamond Princess is scheduled to visit the area more than a dozen times over coming years.

TasPorts requires large vessels to carry a pilot while in the bay, but a Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman yesterday said no permit was required for the visit.

What do you think? Just how far into Wineglass Bay should cruise ships be permitted to sail? Join the debate below.

There are also no size restrictions on vessels in the bay, though they are required to use tenders to land passengers on the world famous beach. No passengers went ashore yesterday.

The Diamond Princess was launched in 2004 and can carry 2670 passengers and 1100 crew.

And despite it appearing to churn up the floor of the bay, green groups are not overly concerned.

“I understand it’s commonplace for them to anchor in Wineglass Bay on the way south,” Tasmanian Conservation Trust spokesman Peter McGlone said yesterday. “I can’t find much to complain about that unless it’s a daily occurrence.”

The ship is expected to depart Hobart this afternoon for Sydney via Port Arthur.