Italian Cruise Ship MSC LIRICA with 2100 Passengers makes its Maiden Trip to New Mangalore Port

By
Alfie Dsouza, Team Mangalorean.
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Italian Cruise Ship MSC LIRICA with 2100 Passengers makes its Maiden Trip to New Mangalore Port

Benvenuto (Welcome) to the Rome of the East- Mangaluru! Italian Cruise Ship MSC LIRICA with 2100 Passengers and around 1400 ship crew members makes its Maiden/FIRST Trip to New Managlore Port on Friday 28 December morning at 7am and will be leaving to Goa between 5-5.30 pm on the same evening.

Mangaluru: If German Cruise Ship AIDAvita with 1182 Passengers plus 400 Crew members made its Maiden Trip of 2018-19 to New Mangalore Port on 15 November 2018, today yet another Italian built cruise ship MSC LIRICA with 2100 Passengers and around 1400 ship crew members made its Maiden/FIRST Trip to New Managlore Port on Friday 28 December morning at 7 am, and will be leaving to Goa between 5-5.30 pm on the same evening. While around 900 passengers took a sight seeing tour around Mangaluru, and few others to Karkala, Udupi, Moodbidri and other places in 34 buses- and few others took a trip to the shopping malls in the City, and a bevy of them for the first time arranged by the tour operators, took a trip to Artisan Village in Pillikula, Ullal beach and Summer Sands in six shuttle buses. But the passengers who came by this ship never took the TukTuk auto-rickshaw rides nor anyone go cycling, like the passengers from other cruise ships that come to Mangaluru.

The tour of this cruise ship in Mangaluru was organized by Shrine Voyages- Mumbai, which is the brainchild of Rajan Naidu, a travel and tourism expert and an entrepreneur, who envisaged taking tourism to a new high in India, Srilanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. Based out of Mumbai, the financial capital of India, and having associate offices at all the major metro and sub metro cities of India, very soon they will be opening their own offices in Delhi, Cochin and Chennai. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Raja Naidu said, ” A ‘Shrine’ is a place that is holy, where divinity dwells, and worship and devotion are the sole reason for its existence. We, at ‘Shrine Voyages’ believe that our work is divine and our passion and commitment as travel professionals is the highest form of devotion we can offer our clients”.

He further said, “Team Shrine Voyages comprises of a group of young and dynamic travel experts who have immense knowledge and expertise in handling various Inbound, Outbound, Domestic and International cruise liners’ ground handling operations in this part of the world. With our extremely good relationship with hoteliers and transport suppliers across India, we guarantee our clients a very competitive pricing and top notch personalized and dedicated services. Our vision is to be unrivalled in the travel industry by continuously developing new relationships and opportunities, and to be the preferred incoming tour operator for cruise liners and foreign tour operators in this part of the world. And our Mission is to become the leading ground handling operator in India, Srilanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. Always striving to be our clients’ best partner by providing the best possible product with the highest quality of services and demonstrating faithfully our commitment towards social and environmental responsibility. We are happy to bring MSC LIRICA for the FIRST time to Mangaluru, and since Mangaluru is a upcoming city and well developed Port, we will plan on arranging many cruise ships coming to this Coastal town”

Speaking also to Team Mangalorean, Shorex (Shore Excursion) Manager on MS LIRIA-Frederio Marcelino hailing from Italy said, “This is the smallest among the other MSC Lirica cruise ships. Our journey started from Dubai on 22 December- where our first stop was in Au Dhabi, then Muscat, and Mangaluru is our third stop. From here this evening we are sailing to Goa, from there to Mumbai and then back to Dubai- from where the passengers will take their journey to their respective countries. On board we have people from Europe, South Africa, USA, and other countries. Mangaluru seems like a nice and friendly town, with very courteous and friendly people. We will surely come back if we get another chance. The team members of Shrine Voyages are excellent and expertize in this travel field”

While the passengers exited out of the NMP lounge, they were greeted by the performances of the Chende artists, and our local duo lasses Miss Daphenie Pinto, doing her BSW at Roshni Nilaya, Mangaluru, and Miss Alvina Menezes, a BBA Aviation student at Srinivas Institute,  clad in traditional saree welcomed the ship guests with a smile, flower and placing the red Kum Kum on the passengers forehead- it was indeed fun for many of these tourists to have this traditional Indian Kum Kum on their forehead-even kids enjoyed it too.

The passengers predominately mixed, comprising of seniors, middle-aged, young and kids-who had one thing in mind- to have fun, whatsoever, and all those who took the city and out of town tour, loved every bit of their sightseeing journey- no complaints at all. They all appreciated the courteousness and kind hospitality of the tour organizers and their team, where a bunch of the team members were from Mangaluru. A job welldone folks, for pleasing and making the foreigners feel at home!

While the foreigners who took the bus trip to Moodbidri and other places around had their lunch break at Soans Farms in Moodabidri, with catering provided by M D’souza Caterers where the foreigners had to take a break from sausages, Ham, and other Western delicacies instead had to enjoy the Kudla delicacies like- Sanna, Apam, Sevio, Banana Sukha, Chicken Sukha, Anjal (Sear) fish fry, Lamb Curry, Sweet Pulav, Gherkins Cashew, etc- and for desserts they were all treated with Payasam and Gulab Jamun. And those who took the shuttle bus tour to Pillikula, Ullal beach, had their sumptuous lunch at Summer Sands Beach Resort.

Yours Truly of Team Mangalorean had an golden opportunity to tour the inside of the MSC Lirica, along with a bevy of Mangaloreans who also had a chance to see the interior of this ship. Thanks to Ms Estafania, the Event Manager who was very courteous and friendly in showing every part of the ship, from the swimming pool, cabin, restaurants, casino, gym, discotheque, bar/pub etc. And we were all lucky to have unlimited red/white wine followed by a sumptuous buffet lunch comprising of Western delicacies, including a touch of Indian cuisine too. Bon apetit- we were all belly stuffed! Thanks to the kind hospitality show to us by the Ship Captain Raffaele Apponti, and his crew. We would also like to thank Kunal Sampat- General Manager- MSC Cruises-India and Ms Rashmi Ahuja- Commercial Coordinator-MSC Cruises India also for their hospitality, and giving us a bag full of goodies to take home.

About MSC LIRICA CRUISE SHIP:

MSC Lirica is a Lirica Class cruise ship, owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She was the first new build cruise ship to enter service for MSC Cruises. She can accommodate 2000 plus passengers in 780 cabins. Her crew complement is approximately 732; with half of them being Italian and the rest from developing countries in the far East. The ship currently sails year-round longer cruises from Shanghai, China to destinations in the Far-East Pacific, including port stops at South Korea, Japan and other regional destinations. MSC Lirica mainly caters to the Asian market with the main on board language being Chinese. However, the ships interior and artistic styles remain from her previous service in the Mediterranean, matching the rest of the fleet.

MSC Opera is an identical twin to the MSC Lirica. Her other sisters in the class, MSC Armonia and MSC Sinfoniaare essentially the same, but have a smaller funnel and other modifications, such as the bow windows and inside changes. The MSC Lirica was the last ship of the Lirica class to undergo renovation under the “Renaissance Program”. New features includes a spray park, refurbished shops, new child and teen areas, an enhanced buffet, a new lounge, and an extended restaurant. The work was completed in November 2015.

MSC Lirica brings you a distinctive cruise experience along classic lines, centred on elegance, comfort and hospitality in the finest traditions of MSC Cruises’ Mediterranean way of life. An atmosphere of relaxed spaciousness pervades, with magnificent internal vistas from the foyer and unimpeded ocean views from the lounges’ floor-to-ceiling picture windows. But you’ll also find an abundance of intimate spaces, like the swish Beverly Hills Bar or traditional English-style Lord Nelson Pub, the perfect haven for a pre-theatre drink. Modernity and tradition mingle on this ecological ship.

The Broadway Theatre is an ultramodern reinterpretation of traditional lines. Access to the theatre for the evening shows is by booking only (not needed for the other ships). There are three quick and easy ways to book: connect to the free onboard wi-fi network with smartphone or tablet, or use the touch screens on different decks of the ship, or ask at the reception. They have also added spacious new cabins with balconies to delight their guests with superb panoramic views. They’ve enlarged the restaurant and buffet areas to serve up an even greater variety of culinary treats.

They’ve included a new 319 m2 area to fill with music and dancing. With the help of prestigious partners like Chicco, LEGO® and Namco®, they’ve created fabulous new play areas for children of all ages, starting with an exciting Spray Park packed with fun water features. And to offer even more routes to relaxation, they’ve enhanced the lavish MSC Aurea Spa with more space for massages.

Experiencing something new to savour every moment aboard, it will come as no surprise to hear travelers grow lyrical that cruise ship is the heart of their voyage, no less than the incredible destinations she takes them to discover. In January 2018, MSC Cruises announced that the ship would spend her 2018-2019 winter season operating cruises in the United Arab Emirates.

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