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Tuesday, 5 February 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
RMS Queen Mary 2, the flagship of Cunard Line, arrived in Colombo on her maiden call yesterday, 4 February 2013. The vessel was on her world voyage for 2013 and arrived in Colombo from the Port of Cochin in India. She left Colombo at 2000 hrs towards her next port, Langkawi in Malaysia.
The vessel was welcomed at the Jaya Container Terminal, by a Kandyan dance troupe, arranged courtesy of the Tourism Promotion Bureau.
With an overall length of 345 metres (1,132 ft) and a total of 17 decks, the Queen Mary 2 is the largest, longest and most expensive North Atlantic liner ever built. A virtual city at sea, she has a passenger capacity of 2,620 and 1,253 officers and crew on board.
Built in Saint-Nazaire, France, the vessel was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in January 2004. The facilities on board Queen Mary 2 include 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre and the first planetarium at sea.
Queen Mary 2 has the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) title conferred on her, as a gesture to Cunard Lines’ history, by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route.
To commemorate her maiden call in Colombo, a ceremony was held and the vessel exchanged plaques with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and their local agents, Shipping Agency Services (Pvt.) Ltd.
Carnival UK commenced their vessel calls in Sri Lanka in 2012 after a lapse of many years. The cruise vessels ‘Arcadia’, ‘Aurora’, and ‘Queen Elizabeth’ called in Colombo last year.
In addition to the Queen Mary 2, ‘Queen Victoria’ has also been scheduled to call in Colombo, in March this year.
Capt. L.N. Jayasooriya of Shipping Agency Services expressed that the company was privileged to represent premium brands of the prestigious Carnival Corporation and were happy about the contributions made to the Sri Lanka Port Authority and to the tourism industry by these high profile vessel calls in Sri Lanka.
Over 1,000 passengers travelled on excursions to Kandy, Pinnawala and Ingiriya, and on city tours. The ground tours were arranged by Gemini Tours and Travels Ltd.
