Tamil Nadu   

Cruiser on maiden voyage docks at Tuticorin

Staff Reporter

The four-star vessel carries 54 tourists The ship, which began its journey in Mormugoa on January 14, is carrying 54 tourists

TUTICORIN: M. S. Ocean Odyssey, a luxury cruise liner on its maiden voyage, arrived at the port here on Tuesday, as part of the new cruise service introduced by Indian Ocean Cruises Limited, New Delhi, connecting Goa, the Lakshwadeep Islands, Mangalore, Kochi and Colombo.

Berthed at 9 a.m. for a 12-hour halt, the four-star vessel carried 54 tourists, both foreign and domestic, as against its capacity of 290 passengers, and a crew of 152.

The 105.6-metre-long vessel boasts of standard and deluxe cabins, a swimming pool, two Jacuzzis, a dining room, a dance floor, a spa and a beauty saloon, a bar, a library with 200 books and a fitness centre.

"This is our first cruise, after the IOCL recently purchased the vessel from Greece, and we expect the passenger volume to pick up on subsequent trips," Linda Reyes, cruise manager, told The Hindu . The first trip began from Mormugoa in Goa on January 14.

The vessel called on the trading ports of Kochi and Mangalore, the untouched islands of Tinnakara and Suheli in Lakshwadeep and Sri Lanka, before reaching Tuticorin.

To the accompaniment of nagaswaram, the tourists arrived at the port. District Tourism Officer T. Chellappa and Tuticorin Port Trust Public Relations Officer Arunachalam received them. Seven tourists — four Britons, one Irishman, one Estonian and a Columbian — embarked on a sightseeing trip to the heritage sites in Tirunelveli district.

Asked about the experience of the voyage, Fabio Condorelli, an Italian, was ecstatic. "The countryside in India is amazing. Especially, the Lakshwadeep Islands, scattered like pearls across the vastness of the Arabian Sea, offered us some pristine locations."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Fashionable wedding attire
Stinking spot
Voicing protest
Life-long fuel supply promised
Cruiser on maiden voyage docks at Tuticorin
Four students from Akkaraipettai win award
135 acres transferred to ELCOT for setting up IT park in Tiruchi
`Passenger rail fare will not be increased'
Tiruvannamalai region of TNSTC inaugurated
Only 25 per cent of dyers have erected RO plant, says TNPCB
"Tier II cities attractive with cheaper labour"
Briefly

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu