Queen Victoria of Cunard Line Calls at Colombo on Her Maiden Call. 105 Night Queen Victoria World Cruise 2013 Visits World’s Most Popular Cruise Departure Ports

01st April 2013, www.ft.lk

MS Queen Victoria, the luxury cruise ship operated by Cunard Line, arrived in Colombo on her maiden call yesterday.

In January this year, she set off on a stunning 105-night circumnavigation of the globe and arrived in Colombo from Port Kelang in Malaysia. She sailed from Colombo last evening, heading towards her next Port, Mumbai in India.

With a length overall of 294 m (964 ft) and a total of 16 decks, Queen Victoria is a near identical sister ship of the Queen Elizabeth, which also made her maiden call in Sri Lanka in March 2012.

Built at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy, the vessel was commissioned by the Duchess of Cornwall in December 2007. 

The facilities on board Queen Victoria include seven restaurants and 13 bars, three swimming pools, a ballroom and a theatre. 

To commemorate her maiden call in Colombo, a ceremony was held on board and the vessel exchanged plaques with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and its local agents, Shipping Agency Services Ltd.

Speaking on the occasion, Capt. L.N. Jayasooriya of Shipping Agency Services said that the call of Queen Victoria in Colombo, following the calls of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth, indicated the commitment of Carnival Corporation in including Colombo as a regular port of call for their luxury cruise vessels/liners.

He also mentioned that they were pleased to be involved in the important contributions made to the Ports Authority and the tourism industry with these high profile vessel calls in Sri Lanka.
 
Over 1,000 passengers travelled on excursions to Kandy, Pinnawala, Ingiriya and on city tours.
The ground tours were arranged by Gemini Tours and Travels Ltd.

Indian Cruise Ship from AMET Shipping Starts Calling at Colombo Port. Cruises Start from Rs 10,000 a Night

05th May 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

An Indian cruise ship owned and operated by a Chennai-based AMET Shipping India will start calling at Sri Lankan ports in May offering cruises starting at 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees a night, officials said.

The cruise service is being launched not only to cater to tourists but also to train cadets of the maritime university, AMET (Academy of Maritime Education and Training) university group, which owns AMET Shipping India.

AMET Shipping chief executive P Bharathi said the vessel MV Amet Majesty will operate from harbours in India's eastern and western coasts, shifting routes and ports of calls to avoid the region's twin monsoons.

Regular cruise calls will start once the ship, acquired from Star Cruises, is fully refurbished.

The vessel will also provide onboard training for university cadets, Bharathi told a news conference in Colombo.

"The academy has to give placements to 400 cadets a year. So we decided the best option is to go for a cruise ship to train students and bring tourists at the same time."

The vessel will operate from the Indian ports of Chennai, Mumbai, Goa and Cochin.

The ship has 267 cabins and nine decks of which decks 4-9 will be for passengers. It also has duty free shops, a pool, spa, restaurants and night clubs.

Cruise prices start from 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees per person a night which includes meals and entertainment.

Bharathi said Sri Lanka was chosen to launch the cruise service because of its proximity and as India is now the biggest tourist generating market for the island.

Many Sri Lankans also visit India, for sight-seeing, pilgrimage or shopping, he noted.

Related Info :

• Luxury Cruiser Nautica in Colombo with 628 Tourists

• Aquamarine Cruises to Colombo. Luxury Cruise Ship of the Fifth Largest Cruise Operator Makes Its Maiden Voyage

• US Cruise Operator Zegrahm Expeditions Includes Sri Lanka in 2011 Destinations List

• Cruise Ship Calls at Sri Lanka's Eastern Port of Trincomalee after 30 Years

World’s Largest Floating Book Fair Logos Hope to Call on Colombo Port Sri Lanka on March 18

27th January 2011, www.island.lk, By Harischandra Gunaratna

The world’s largest floating book fair, Logos Hope, will arrive at the Colombo Port on March 18 and will be in the country till April 03. The exhibition will be open to the public from March 19 – April 03.

The ship will exhibit half a million books and will have a wide selection with 7,000 different titles ranging from education, technology, history, philosophy, art, cookery and fiction to a selection of children’s books as well.

The ship will be in the dry docks for necessary repairs and will leave for Tuticorin on May 10 and will return to Galle on June 30 and continue the exhibition till July 18.

In an interview with The Island Financial Review at its host hotel, The Global Towers, Wellawatte, the Project Director of the ship for the Sri Lankan visit Lenhert Plaatjies of Namibia said, "Our mission is to express mercy in a tangible manner and give hope to millions of people around the world and thus we want to show the different nations that it is possible for us to live together and bring unity through diversity."

He said that the crew of the floating book fair consists of people from more than 50 different nationalities and this is the binding factor.

"Thirty percent of its total income is generated from the sale of books while the balance is pocketed-out by us," Plaatjies explained.

All those serving the book fair numbering about 400 are volunteers on a two year contract and our focus is on knowledge and we want to help the needy communities where ever we go, he said.

We provide relief aid to underdeveloped communities joining hands with the local NGOs and government institutions.

"We will be providing free books to these communities as well as educational institutions and set up libraries in such places," Plaatjies added.

The books could be purchased at affordable prices he said adding that the floating book fair is operated by a German based organization, GBA ships.

These books are provided to us by the suppliers at a very low cost.

We will be recruiting staff for the ship from Sri Lanka as well, he said.

To meet our expenses on board during the two years we are required to raise money within our own communities, he said.

Plaatjies said that the dawn of Peace in the country augurs well for the economic development as well as tourism and was confident that those visiting Sri Lanka on board "Logos Hope" will carry the message that it is a safe place to visit.

Cruise Ship Calls at Sri Lanka's Eastern Port of Trincomalee after 30 Years

16th November 2010, www.lankabusinessonline.com

A luxury passenger vessel, MV Le Diamant, operated by the CMA CGM shipping line, has begun calls at Sri Lankan ports following the end of the island's 30-year ethnic war.

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority said the ship called at the eastern port of Trincomalee on November 14, the first time in 30 years the harbor has got a cruise call.

The vessel also called at the ports of Galle on the south coast and Colombo, on the west coast.

The cruise ship, which has a capacity of 112 cabins, is one of five luxury cruise ships owned and operated by CMA CGM Group's cruise arm Compangnie de Ponant.

CMA CGM is the world’s third largest container shipping line.

The SLPA said the line's local agent, CMA CGM Lanka, a subsidiary of the Hayleys conglomerate, had lobbied for the start of cruise calls with its French principals.

The ship was the first cruise liner to call three ports in the country on the same voyage.

Its second voyage is planned for May 2011.