Viking Sun cruise liner harbors in Chennai

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

At Chennai Port on Sunday, the newly launched cruise terminal got its first visitor when Viking Sun, a luxury cruise liner on a 141-day world tour that started from Miami to London, harbored in the city. The five-month-old ship is being controlled by a Chennai-based hospitality expert.

 
Because of the lack of basic facilities, visitors on board were pretty much disappointed at the cruise terminal, which would be built first on the eastern coast of India. The other four cruise terminals are on the west coast at Mumbai, Mormugao, Mangalore and Kochi. The cruise terminal at Chennai Port was inaugurated lately and had little to offer the 930 visitors who spent a day exploring the attractions the city has to provide.

 
To quote Sujith Mohan, Viking Cruises general manager, who is on his eighth world tour, “The cruise terminal lacks a money exchange centre. There is no taxi stand for the visitors. Considering the spending power of the tourists, there must be a shopping area in the terminal.” A Mandaveli resident, 38-year old Mohan bitterly regretted that the potential of the city tourism remains unexploited regardless of its rich culture and history.

 
On average Chennai Port welcomes less than 10 cruise vessels in a year. Mumbai in comparison receives over 50 vessels. A Chennai Port official explained that Mumbai attracts more traffic as the west coast is a well-known cruise circuit. As Viking Sun will be harboring in Kochi, Mormugao and Mumbai afterwards, Chennai was its only stop on the country’s eastern coast.

 
On Sunday, majority of the visitors from the United States had visited Kapaleeswarar temple, St. Mary’s Church, Mahabalipuram and temples in Kancheepuram on luxury buses. Some selected to brave the heat and tour the city on auto rickshaws.

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