Stuart Line Cruises are offering passangers the chance to get close to the big ships in Lyme Bay.

Over the last few weeks, anyone looking out to sea off the East Devon coastline can’t have failed to see the spectacular array of luxury cruise liners that are temporarily moored up in Lyme Bay.

The enormous cruise liners dominate the seascape in Teignmouth and Babbacombe, and are clearly visible from Exmouth’s expansive seafront.

The vessels include three of P & O Cruises’ modern ships and also Cunard’s flagship, the Queen Mary 2.

Naturally, the intriguing set of ships anchored in the waters that are more used to seeing light sailing vessels caught the eye of the owners of the family-run Stuart Line Cruises, who happened upon an idea.

The owners readily embraced a unique and unexpected opportunity - to introduce evening Cruise Ship Sightseeing Tours for the general public - on board one of their brightly coloured vessels.

The first set of tickets for the new sightseeing tour was snapped up within eight minutes after being promoted on the Exmouth cruise company’s Facebook page.

The owner of Stuart Line Cruises, Jake Stuart, said: “This year has presented worrying and unfamiliar territory for all of us – we are not used to being the smallest passenger ship in Lyme Bay for one!

“Our hope is that these cruises can offer something extra special and distinctly different from what can usually be experienced when cruising along Devon’s magnificent coastlines.

“Of course, it is devastating to see these massive liners at anchor – they should be on their way to New York or cruising around the Mediterranean somewhere and it saddens me to see them almost empty.

“However, with every setback in life there is an opportunity to bounce back and find something positive.”

He added: “We want to provide a unique and fun experience for people during the current period of adversity and I really believe that to get out on the water and get away from it all is exactly what we all need from time to time.”

To find out more about the Cruise Ship Sightseeing Tours, visit www.stuartlinecruises.co.uk/cruise-ship-sightseeing-tour/ or see www.facebook.com/stuartlinecruises