Luxury cruise ship calls at New Mangalore Port

A cruise vessel — m.v. Aida Diva — with 1,975 passengers and 598 crew members called at New Mangalore Port on Saturday.

A press release by Mr S. Gopalakrishna, Traffic Manager of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), said this is the biggest cruise vessel to have called at the Port so far.

The vessel started its journey from Muscat and called at Goa. From there, the vessel called at New Mangalore Port on Saturday morning.

Of the 1,975 passengers from Germany, around 1,200 passengers opted for ground tour. They visited Thousand-pillar Jain Temple and monolithic statue of Lord Gomateshwara in Moodbidri town; and Gokarnanatha Temple, St. Aloysius Chapel, Kadri Temple, and a cashew factory in Mangalore.

The tourists were taken around in 40 buses by the local ground tour operators — Globe International — and the agents of the ship — J.M. Baxi & Co.

It may be mentioned here that a team of tour operator — Royal Caribbean International – had visited NMPT twice during the current year and had discussion with the Chairman and Traffic Manager of NMPT.

The release said that Royal Caribbean International has already prepared its plan for bringing 12 more cruise vessels during the next one year period.

The biggest vessel – m.v. Brilliance of the Seas — with 3,000 passengers is expected to call at the port during April. This will be the biggest cruise vessel ever handled at the port, the release said.

Quoting Mr P. Tamilvanan, Chairman of NMPT, the release said that the captain of m.v. Aida Diva has expressed happiness over the facilities available at NMPT.

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