Good tidings as cruise ship docks in Mombasa with 3,000 tourists

Tourists disembark from Norwegian Dawn at the Port of Mombasa. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Mombasa Port welcomed its first cruise ship of the year Sunday, arriving from the Seychelles with 3,225 passengers and a mixed crew of nationalities.

The Norwegian Dawn, owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), docked at berth number one's ultra-modern cruise handling terminal before passengers disembarked for game safaris and city tours.

The vessel, launched in 2002, has a length of 294 meters with a draft of 8.5m and boasts the latest hospitality facilities onboard.

Captain William Ruto, the managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority, who went out to sea to bring in the vessel, expressed pleasure at NCL's decision to call at the port of Mombasa early in the year.

He said, "We wish to reiterate our resolve to continue supporting the growth and sustainability of cruise tourism here. What you are seeing today is just the beginning. Our port city has a lot to offer in terms of tourist attractions."

Captain Ruto was with the chairman of the KPA Board of Directors, Benjamin Tayari, who said KPA has invested heavily in infrastructure development to aid in the growth of cruise tourism. "We remain confident that more cruise lines will call at the Port of Mombasa with this kind of cruise terminal," Tayari said.

He added that KPA and key stakeholders will work to ensure cruise ships calling at the port spend more than a day to enable both passengers and crew time to sample what the Kenyan Coast has in store for them.

The vessel's master, Captain Asen Gyuruv, a Bulgarian national, expressed his high impression with the reception the ship received upon entering Kenyan waters.

"Right from the time Kenyan pilots boarded and guided us into the harbor to the wonderful reception as we received a certificate of the vessel's first port call to the traditional dance song and music, we felt great," he said, adding that they were looking forward to more return port calls.

The ship's local handling agent, Inchcape Shipping Limited, through its Marine Service manager, Walid Timimi, said the port of Mombasa was gaining traction as an international cruise ship port of call. "With good sound planning and the involvement of all key stakeholders, we hope to break the ceiling and receive many more cruisers here," Timimi said.

He said the vessel, which will be leaving Mombasa after a 12-hour stopover, is heading to the spicy Indian Ocean island nation of Zanzibar.

''It is truly a floating world on its own, with a record number of 54 different nationalities on the side of passengers it is carrying and a further 51 nationalities making up the ship's crew,'' Timimi said.

Mohamed Osman, Mombasa County executive committee member for Tourism and Trade, reiterated the devolved unit's quest to make Mombasa a popular cruise ship destination of choice.

"We have all seen what KPA and the multi-sectoral agencies are doing to promote cruise tourism. Under the stewardship of Governor Abdullswamad Nassir, we wish to assure all and sundry that we are equal to the task and would ensure Mombasa glitters when it comes to cruise ship arrivals and passenger experiences," he said.