Dh3.2-billion ocean liner to grace port in Capital

The Dh3.2-billion Queen Mary 2, built in 2004 to replace the illustrious Queen Elizabeth 2, will spend the day on January 29 in Mina Zayed before sailing for Cochin in India.

Under the command of the Cunard fleet Commodore, Christopher Rynd, the 2,620 passengers aboard the 345m, 150,000-tonne liner boasts 1,310 staterooms and suites — 955 with balconies — and a multitude of luxury touches including a six-storey grand lobby piano atrium, a theatre which can accommodate more than 1,000 people, Canyon Ranch SpaClub, a cinema and auditorium that includes the only planetarium on the sea, and 15 restaurants and bars.

Tourism officials expect 180,000 passengers in the current cruise season and a 39 per cent increase on that next year.

Queen Mary 2 will call at Abu Dhabi as part of her 2013 World Voyage, a 106-day odyssey from Southampton in the UK, via the Mediterranean and the Red Sea then heading out across the Indian Ocean to the Far East and China, Australia, New Zealand and Mauritius to South Africa, before returning to Southampton prior to embarking on a transatlantic leg.

Growth forecasts for Abu Dhabi’s cruise sector will see 100 vessels call at Mina Zayed by the end of the 2014-15 season, accounting for over 250,000 passengers. The recent introduction of a multi-entry cruise passenger visa for the UAE is also expected to yield a higher number of cruise passengers from emerging markets such as Russia, India and China.

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