Caledonia Cruise liner docked in Guyana’s waters on Monday for a short visit, signalling Guyana’s growing tourism potential. The 100-passenger MS Serenissima is one of the ships operating under the Nobel Caledonia Cruise Company.
The MS SerenissimaCruise director Neil Horrocks receives the welcome plaque from a representative of the Tourism Ministry in the presence of Captain Etien Bonacic
The ship is docked at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation’s (GNSC) wharf for just under 24 hours, and according to cruise director Neil Horrocks, the stop was made for site-seeing purposes as they have never stopped in Guyana.
“I’ve come down this Coast 20 times in my cruising life, and normally we go straight to Trinidad and Tobago and those other islands, and we miss out on all of this and wonder what was here,” he stated.
Horrocks explained that the passengers and crew were excited to see the Kaieteur Falls and other sites, adding that they were very appreciative of the warm welcome they received.
Director General of the Tourism Ministry Donald Sinclair expressed appreciation for the cruise’s visit, and stated that the occasion shows that Guyana’s tourism potential is growing.
“More and more these events are happening, which is telling us that Guyana is now coming out of its obscurity. You know in the 1970s and ‘80s Guyana was off the tourism map… now we are more and more a part of the cruise tourism map because this is the third cruise visit for 2016.
I don’t think any other year saw that many for the beginning,” he stated before presenting Captain Etien Bonacic with a welcome plaque on behalf of Tourism Minister Catherine Hughes. “We hope you enjoyed your stay, and do come again,” he encouraged.
The ship is equipped with 53 crew members. It was built in Norway in 1959 and renovated extensively in 2003.
The MS Serenissima departed Guyana’s waters for Suriname at 17:30h on Monday.
