Cruise ship with 1,900 tourists docks at port, 4 more expected

Tourists alight from MV Bolette cruise ship at the Port of Mombasa in Mombasa County on December 28, 2023. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

A cruise ship with 900 tourists and 1,000 crew has docked at the Mombasa port.

Kenya Ports Authority General Manager Dr Sudi Mwasinago said MV Bolette, belonging to Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, was due to leave for Zanzibar after an overnight stay in Mombasa.

The ship was received by Mwasinago and Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) acting Chief Executive Officer John Chirchir.

"We share our delight at the prospects of having many cruise ships call at the new facility here at the port where we have made substantial investments in infrastructure development to attract cruise ships," Mwasinago said.

He said between January and March 2024, they are expecting to receive four cruise ships for the new season.

MSC Cruises would send one of its vessels, MSC Poesia, on a world tour to the port of Mombasa early next year.

MV Bolette cruise ship after docking with visitors at the Port of Mombasa in Mombasa County on December  28, 2023. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

MSC, which has a strong presence in Kenya, employs thousands of Kenyan seafarers to work on its cruise and cargo ships and has several of its cargo vessels dominating port calls to Mombasa.

Disembarking tourists left for Masai Mara, Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks while others went on city tours.

Peter Woodhouse and Erica Woodhouse from the United Kingdom expressed their delight to be back in Kenya for a holiday.

''We are not new here. We used to live and work in your beautiful city of Mombasa. We are certain that much has changed over time. I still remember the famous elephant tusks, Fort Jesus, Likoni ferry, and the Mombasa Beach Hotel where we used to stay on short vacations," said Peter, who worked with the East African Power and Utility Company then.

He said that they started their journey from Southampton and cruised to the Mediterranean before joining the Suez Canal down to the Red Sea, India, and then to Seychelles.

KTB CEO said that they were keen to have more cruise ships call at the port of Mombasa to boost the country's economy.