The cruise season in the state is all set to commence with the arrival of the ultra-luxury cruise ship Celebrity Edge that berthed at Kochi on Saturday. It is the first foreign ship to reach the Kerala coast this year.
The Celebrity Edge with a total 2,782 tourists from different countries and 1,377 crew members docked at Sagarika terminal around 7am.
The vessel is currently on a 12-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore. The biggest attraction of the ship is the ‘magic carpet’ — the world’s first cantilever floating platform arranged on a ship. The ship, which was built in 2018, sails to the Caribbean from November to April every year.
The tourists who arrived in Celebrity Edge had a guided sightseeing visit to Alappuzha, Vaikkam and at various spots of Fort Kochi on Saturday. The ship left for Colombo in Sri Lanka later in the evening.
The cruise wing of Cochin Port Authority said they expect around 45 cruise vessels at the port this season, including 31 foreign ships.