Sun Princess – longest cruise ship to berth in Port Victoria |10 February 2016

The recent visit of cruise liner Sun Princess to Port Victoria has landed the vessel a place in the Seychelles Ports Authority’s (SPA) book of records as the longest ship of its kind to ever berth at the Mahé Quay.

The majestic 261-metre long Sun Princess with a gross tonnage of 78,000 tonnes called at Port Victoria on January 29 this year at the break of dawn. It is only natural for Sun Princess to also hold another record of having the most passengers on board – a whopping 1,935 as well as the largest crew, consisting of 870 members.

Seychelles is now in the middle of the cruise ship season, and the number of port calls by cruise liners has entirely surpassed that of 2015. The cruise season starts in October and goes on until April the following year. So far, Seychelles has had an increase of over 11 ships since the previous year’s.

The last ship to hold the record of the longest cruise ship to moor in Seychelles waters was MSC Sinfonica. Measuring 254m long, MSC Sinfonica stopped by in November last year.

Many walking through town these last few months may have noticed the usually big and luxurious vessels when they are docked in Port Victoria.

Although some do not spend more than a day in the country; as Sun Princess left at 5pm on the same day, they are still bringing in much needed revenue in the local economy.

“We have certain vessels like the Sun Princess that only stay for a day here – giving their passengers the chance to see the sights and spend on some well-deserved souvenir,” explained Allen Chetty, director of operations at the SPA.

Mr Chetty also explained that many of the cruise ships coming to Seychelles leave the port in the evening as they prefer to sail during the night giving their passengers the opportunity to visit a different port the following day.

“Seychelles is just a stop-over port as most of the vessels we welcome here are usually en route to European destinations or South Africa,” he added.

For those who have noticed the regular frequency that Costa Neo Romantica is calling at Port Victoria, this is because she is following a triangular course – stopping at the Ports of the Vanilla Islands collective. Costa Neo Romantica’s trajectory also allows her passengers to stay longer and experience the unique Seychellois hospitality and way of life.