Watch Balmoral arrive in New York

Wreaths have been laid, prayers have been said, thousands of words of learned lectures have been delivered, and the last of the fancy dress dinners has been eaten. The Titanic Memorial Cruise is over and cruise ship Balmoral is on her way back home. After arriving safely in New York – something Titanic never achieved – the Fred. Olsen ship is returning to Southampton, visiting Martha’s Vineyard today and the French territory of St. Pierre & Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland, on Monday. Whatever welcome awaits back in Britain, I can confidently predict it will not be as emotional or as spectacular as her journey up the Hudson to Manhattan, captured in this spectacular video by a cruise fan fortunate enough to live in a riverside apartment in New Jersey. If you have 15 minutes to spare, I urge you to sit back, click the button in the bottom right of the frame to expand the picture to fill your computer screen, and enjoy. It’s fair to say that Balmoral is not the best-looking cruise ship in the world; the older Olsen sisters Black Watch and Boudicca have more classic lines and Balmoral was not improved by being stretched by the addition of a 30-metre mid-section. But she looks magnificent against the Manhattan skyline, even after the buffeting she received during her Transatlantic crossing. And if that wasn’t enough, here’s another 15 minutes of the ship leaving Manhattan and heading downriver towards the Verrazano Narrows bridge on her way out to Atlantic. Thanks to Scott for taking the time to film these beautiful images.