《TAIPEI TIMES》 Cruise ships expected to bring 20,000 to Kaohsiung

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

An estimated 20,000 people are scheduled to arrive on cruise ships at the Port of Kaohsiung this month and next month, Taiwan International Port Co said in a statement yesterday.

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Travelers would arrive on six cruise ships — the AIDAstella, the Norwegian Sky, the Seabourn Encore, the Silver Whisper, the Riviera and the Noordam — which between them are to make eight stops in the city, the company said.

The AIDAstella — which has the same red lips and blue eyes hull design as its sister vessel, the AIDAbella — is scheduled to dock on Thursday next week, the company said, adding that the Norwegian Sky and the Seabourn Encore would arrive on Jan. 21, the first time that the port’s passenger terminals would receive two cruise ships on the same day.

The Noordam, which has a gross tonnage of 82,500, is due to arrive in Kaohsiung on Feb. 23, the company said.

It would be the largest cruise ship of the ones to berth at the port in the first batch this year, it said.

Taiwan International Port’s Kaohsiung branch office last year extended the boarding corridor of the seaport’s passenger terminal by 125m.

The boarding corridor — which can serve one medium-sized and one large cruise ship — is to be officially opened on the day of the double docking, Taiwan International Port Co said.

It allows entry and exit to customs, providing barrier-free passage for a more comfortable and convenient route for boarding and disembarking, the company said.

The office and the Maritime and Port Bureau coordinated to install customs, immigration clearance, quarantine and security inspection facilities, the company said.

The Kaohsiung Oceanographic Bureau is organizing a welcome performance for people arriving on the first cruise ship this year, the company said.

The passengers would be invited to learn how to write spring couplets using Chinese calligraphy, it said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES