Curious crowds throng Cochin Port for glimpse of 'Queen Mary 2'

Kochi, Mar 8 (UNI) Curious crowds thronged Cochin Port for a glimpse of 'Queen Mary 2', the world's largest, tallest and most expensive cruise ship, which sailed into Kochi yesterday on its maiden call in India during a world tour.

The Ernakulam wharf, where the ship has been berthed, wore a festive look last night as the entire area was illuminated and stalls selling traditional curios were set up for the tourists disembarking from the ship.

''Coming into Cochin has been a pleasant experience for us. The pilot vessels assisted us into the port very well. The immigration and customs formalities were also handled well,'' Commodore Bernard Warner, the captain of the ship, told mediapersons on board the cruise liner.

Nearly 1,000 of the 2,500 passengers on board 'Queen Mary 2' chose to take scheduled tours in and around Kochi while another 45 preferred to fly to Agra for a quick visit to the Taj Mahal.

Coming from several nations, the average age of the tourists is around 60 years with the oldest touching almost 90 years.

While the overseas visitors caught up with Kochi, the local people crowding outside the Ernakulam wharf saw the ship itself as a tourist attraction.

''It is not everyday that a passenger ship of this size comes to Kochi. That is why my children were very keen to come and have a look at it,'' said Mr Jacob, a bank manager.

His children, though, were disappointed that they could see the vessel only from a distance as strict security restrictions prevented them from going anywhere near it.

''I wanted to go inside the ship and have a look at it. But, the security is very tight and we have to be satisfied with this only,'' said his daughter Lisa.

In fact, so stringent were the security measures that even mediapersons taken on a tour of the ship were issued special security cards after they deposited personal identification documents such as driving licenses, passports and ID cards with the ship's local agents.

The ship, which is on an 80-day world cruise, would leave for Dubai this afternoon. While about four hundred passengers are doing the full cruise, which costs about 170,000 US Dollars, the others are doing particular segments, which cost about 21,000 Dollars each, Commodore Warner said.

The ship, which left Fort Lauderdale, US, on January 11, would get into Southampton on April two after circumnavigating almost 38,000 nautical miles. Kochi is the only Indian port that the ship will halt at.

A casino, two theatres with a combined seating capacity of nearly 1800 people, 13 restaurants, 17 bars, a planetarium, a night club, a swimming pool and the largest library at sea are some of the onboard sources of entertainment available for the passengers.

Besides nearly 2,500 passengers, the ship is also carrying a crew of 1,200 including 200 women.

UNI