Published: Thursday, 8 March, 2007, 08:26 AM Doha Time
The Queen Mary 2 docked at the port in Kochi yesterdayKOCHI:
Queen Mary II, the world’s largest ocean liner called at the Kochi port yesterday on its maiden voyage around the world, giving a big boost to the southern Indian state’s booming tourism industry.
Kochi was among the 20 destinations on the ‘around-the-world-in-eighty-days’ trip of the $1bn grand lady of the sea. “She is the largest, longest, tallest, widest and most expensive liner ever built. She arrived at 1300 hours and will set sail at 14 hours on Thursday for Dubai,” the port authorities said in a statement here. The cruise liner left Fort Lauderdale in Florida, US, on January 11 and it will return there on April 2 after making its last two calls at Le Havre in France and Southampton, England. Her last port of call was Malaysia. Other ports of call include Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cairo, Athens and Rome. QM2 entered service on January 12, 2004 after being named by Queen Elizabeth II, at what was the most spectacular naming ceremony ever. She was too tall, at 23 stories high, to sail under the Harbor Bridge and too long to berth at the International Terminal at Circular Quay. The 1,132ft-long vessel weighing 150,000 tons offers regular scheduled transatlantic crossings between New York and Southampton as well to regions in the Caribbean, Europe, Mediterranean and Canada. This year, it began its first world cruise with approximately 3,000 passengers and 1,253-member crew. She has many firsts and exclusives. A majority of cabins of the ship feature private balconies. There is artwork worth over £3.5mn on board. The world’s first floating Planetarium offers virtual reality rides through the galaxies. A cultural academy is operated by the University of Oxford. She offers the first suites with private lift access, the first Canyon Ranch Spa at sea, the first Veuve Clicquot champagne bar, the largest library with 8,000 hardbacks, 500 paperbacks, 200 audio books and 100 CD-ROMs, the largest ballroom with the largest dance floor, workshops and master classes performed by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the longest jogging track and the largest and most extensive wine cellar at sea. The holidaymakers on the cruise took short trips to major tourist spots in and around Kochi and Alappuzha. Most of them preferred overnight backwater cruises. A large number of local visitors also turned up to have a close look at the wonder at the sea. QM2 was a crowd-puller at every port she has visited. Almost 3mn turned out when she sailed up the east coast of England at close range. Passengers rate the ship highly on dining, service and onboard facilities and six books have already been published about her
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