Mangalore Port played host to two cruise ships, M V Norwegina Star and M V Nautica, that called on Wednesday.
This is for the first time two big vessels have been handled alongside at the same time. Both the vessels came from Goa and sailed to Kochi in the evening. A majority of the passengers were from USA, UK, Canada and Brazil and had opted for ground tour and enjoyed scenic views and experienced the cultural heritage of Dakshina Kannada.
M V Norwegina Star, a giant cruise vessel 294 metres long with 2,064 cruise passengers and 1,048 crew members and M V Nautica with 590 passengers and 398 crew, called at the port.
As many as 109 passengers rejoined vessel Nautica and 77 joined Norwegina Star at the Port reaching Mangaluru by air from Mumbai.
The vessels were berthed alongside berths 3 and 4. This is for the first time two big vessels have been handled alongside.
The passengers visited Thousand Pillar Jain Basadi, monolithic statue of Gomateshwara, Gokarnanatha temple, St Aloysius Chapel, Kadri temple, cashew processing units, city shopping etc. These tourists were taken around by M/s Lia Travels, the local agents of the main tour operator, M/s Ventours, Mumbai and the agents of the ship are M/s J M Baxi & Co.
The release stated that the cruise traffic at the Port had steadily increased in the last three years. During the financial year 2015-16, the port had handled 23 cruise vessels with 19,160 passengers.
The Port set up all the infrastructure required for cruise traffic like state of the art cruise lounge, neat and tidy berth area, concretised roads, security arrangements, immigration facility, greenery in and around the port, availability of local ground tour operators, proximity to tourist areas, etc.
The next vessel will call at the port on Thursday. In the current year 2016-17, 30 cruise vessels are scheduled to call at the Port, stated the release.