Vista Mar docks at GNSC terminal
GRACING Guyana’s shores for the second time, the luxurious cruise ship, Vista Mar, docked at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) terminal, Sunday, with 225 passengers and 110 crew members on board. This is the first vessel to arrive in Guyana for 2012, with its mostly German passengers, save for one Guyanese.
As the rains let up Sunday, and the skies cleared, a welcome committee, comprising the Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Indranauth Haralsingh, representatives from Wilderness Explorers, GNSC and other GTA representatives, ventured on board to interact with the captain and crew.
Welcoming the visitors, Haralsingh acknowledged that the repeat visit augurs well for promoting Destination Guyana, and expressed the hope that the ship would increase its visits as well as its period of stay.
As to the reason for this, he said, “Visitors will have the opportunity to discover more of what Guyana has to offer; apart from the city tour, we have the wonderful Kaieteur Falls, trips to the Essequibo, the third largest river in Guyana, and lots of wildlife and birds.”
He noted too that this interaction could lead to an exchange of culture between the tourist and Guyanese, and he took the opportunity to thank the GNSC staff and Wilderness Explorers for their continued collaboration.
Alluding to the success of the country’s budding cruise ship industry, the GTA Director reminded that Guyana saw five dockings last year, and revealed that this year, the industry continues to show potential as another vessel, the ‘Clipper Adventure’, is due to arrive in March.
Welcoming the local team and the media on board, Vista Mar’s French captain, Alfio Bizzie, said he was happy to be able to come to this port, despite initial reservations about the depth of the inlet.
While on board, the team was treated to a tour of the ship and a hearty serving of European hospitality. The captain was also presented with tokens from the GTA, GNSC and Wilderness Explorers, including a travel guide of Guyana, a Guyana map and a bottle of 15 year old rum.
The passengers were welcomed to Guyana by light steel pan music and were given the opportunity to purchase beverages and art and craft from tents set up at the terminal.
GNSC has been facilitating an increasing amount of visits by cruise ships over the last four years, and provides organised arrangements to facilitate the docking and disembarking of passengers in a safe and secure manner.
The vessel arrived a few days after the MV Adonia, a UK Carnival Cruise Vessel, was scheduled to arrive with over 500 passengers on board.
This was however cancelled after being delayed in Barbados.