Second cruise liner sails into Mombasa in a week

MS Nautica arrives at the Mombasa Port. The second cruise ship to dock at the port city in less than a week brought in 591 tourists. [PHOTO: OMONDI ONYANGO/STANDARD]

A second cruise ship carrying 991 tourists docked in the port city in less than a week.

MS Nautica, built in 2000, sailed in on on Saturday from Mahe, Seychelles on an Indian ocean cruise that started in Dubai and will end in South Africa.

On Tuesday, another cruise ship docked at the port city, raising hope that the tourist sector in the region may be on its way to recovery.

The vessel registered in Nassau in the Bahamas is a regular at the Port of Mombasa and made headlines in November 2008 while sailing on the Gulf of Aden when it come under attack from pirates, but was able to escape without any injuries to passengers and crew.

The tourists expressed were excited to visit Kenya.

"We are excited and looking forward to a fruitful 12-hour sojourn here. We feel at home among our brothers and sisters here," Mr Ornan Pratt.

Another visitor, Mr Amado Dabo, a Guinean national with his Canadian wife, Lise, expressed their excitement upon visiting the country for the first time.

''We have fond memories of Kenya whose athletes are world beaters. Your first President Jomo kenyatta was a well known African nationalist,'' said Dabo,a retired insurance specialist who lives in Canada.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) officials and their counterparts from Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) presented disembarking passengers with branded gifts including caps, key holders and maps.

Ann Nthengi, a curio dealer operating at the Port of Mombasa, urged the government to aggressively market the port of Mombasa to attract more cruise ships.

"We hear that there are plans to build a modern cruise handling terminal by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). Our hope is that apart from the infrastructure development, there will be enhanced marketing to help bring in more cruise traffic," she said.