A giant cruise ship which can cater for 2,506 passengers sailed up the River Thames this morning.

TUI Mein Schiff 3 went past Gravesend at about 7.30am, dwarfing everything around it, as it headed for Tilbury from Le Havre, France.

It is due to leave for Zeebrugge in Belgium this evening, at about 9pm.

TUI Mein Schiff 3, which means My Ship 3, is owned by TUI Cruises. Weighing 99,430 tons, it was built by Meyer Turku Shipyard in Finland and was TUI’s first newbuild.

The stop off is part of a seven-day, all-inclusive cruise which started on Saturday from Hamburg in Germany taking in Le Havre, Tilbury (London), Zeebrugge and Amsterdam before returning to Hamburg.