Look, no hands? It won't be for a long while yet

LAST night I watched horrified as a news report showed large cruise ship MSC Opera running into the quay at some speed and crashing into a large tourist boat, the River Countess, luckily without sinking her. From press reports, it appeared that five tourists on the smaller vessel were injured, although their condition wasn't known yet.

This incident happened in Venice, Italy, where such large cruise ships routinely come right into the middle of the city, which comprises many islands. The presence of the big vessels is not welcomed by all Venetians and a noisy protest was organised, calling for all cruise ships to be banned from the city's waters on environmental and safety grounds.

The public perception of the cruise industry may be becoming less favourable and that doubtless will be a subject to return to in a future column. Today, though, I want to focus on another issue which comes to mind following the Veni…