From Kochi to Dubai: A Voyage on Giant Cruise Ship - Queen Mary 2
Daijiworld Media Network
Dubai, Mar 15: It was a golden opportunity for Santosh D'Souza of Mangalore, who works for a shipping firm in Dubai, to have been deputed along with another colleague and a pilot to accompany over 2500 passengers from Kochi (Cochin) port of Kerala, India to Dubai's Rashid port.
The 1,132-foot-long ship is as tall as a 23-storey building and ranks as the second-largest passenger ship in the world.
Dubai had its largest-ever visiting cruise ship on March 11, 2007 when the Queen Mary 2 docked at Port Rashid.
The 151,400-tonne ship dwarfed everything around her after she came alongside around 6 am on Sunday as part of her first world tour.
The British-registered vessel offering an 80-day luxury tour to passengers has carried about 2,500 passengers and more than a half of them alighted from the ship in Dubai at the end of their voyage. Around 1,300 new passengers joined the world famous vessel in Dubai.
The vessel has a crew of about 1,600, including singers and other artistes, doctors, nurses, etc.
The vessel began its journey from Sydney, and reached San Francisco during its 80-day voyage. It will pass through Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Cochin, Dubai, Alexandria (Egypt), Athens, Rome, Southampton, Fort Lauderdale, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Santiago and Acapulco.
Santosh D'Souza, who travelled from Cochin to Dubai on official duty, says, "It is a lifetime opportunity to travel in such a huge cruise ship. It took us five days to cruise from Cochin to Dubai. But the scene was spectacular when the ship left Cochin port; there were a huge number of people standing at the bay, waving at the passengers. You never feel you are middle of the sea..you will not miss anything there; everything you get. It is such an organized life in the ship."
"There are quite a few passengers who came aboard at Sydney; they will travel through the voyage until San Francisco. A few other passengers just pass through the next destination. The journey in Queen Mary 2 is really enjoyable," says Santosh, sharing his experiences inside the ship. "You will have every entertainment inside, right from the bar to night clubs. There are thousands of artistes performing in the ship. Many singers, even stars, sometimes travel for close-placed destinations. You will have daily time-table and you can choose whatever entertainment you want"
"I was amazed to see some pieces of art, and some attractive ones have been auctioned and sold for hundreds of thousand dollars," he says.
CUNARDS, one of the best-known ocean liners in the world, is the agent for this ship and it looks after each and every aspect.
Queen Mary 2 left Sydney on February 20, 2007, Via Hong Kong, Singapore and Port Kelang. It reached Cochin on March 8, 2007. The distance of about 1613 miles between Cochin and Dubai was covered in 2 days and 15 hours. The average speed of the ship was 25.1 Knots.
"The travel is quite expensive; it may not be possible to realize it within the common man's budget. The food, drinks and entertainment - everything is very expensive. But this is a lifetime opportunity; those who can afford can travel and enjoy a different kind of life at voyage," he says.
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