Nelson Mandela Bay is preparing to roll out the red carpet for the arrival on Monday of one of the grand dames of the seas, the Queen Mary 2.
The return to the Port of Port Elizabeth is part of an extensive cruise-season that began in November and that will see around 20 cruise liners dock at South African ports when the season closes in April.
The Queen Mary ll was last in port a year ago.
Rajesh Dana, the Port Manager at the Port of Port Elizabeth, said Transnet was extremely excited about the return of the QE Mary 2 will be calling at the Port of Port Elizabeth on Monday, 29 January.
"This return visit of the Queen Mary 2 to Nelson Mandela Bay is a clear indication of the attractiveness of Nelson Mandela Bay to both local and international tourists. It is also a sign of confidence expressed by the international cruise industry in terms of the Port of Port Elizabeth's world-class infrastructure and services," he said.
"To this end, we have prepared and planned extensively around the visit. We have collaborated both with the City as well as Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and there will be welcoming ceremony as well a process leading to the arrival of the vessel," Dana said.
"We are seeing a growing market for cruise liner visits to Nelson Mandela Bay and this is attributed, in my view, to the fact that we are presenting a good product and a world class service as Nelson Mandela Bay and the port.".
Dana said he would like to invite the community of Nelson Mandela Bay to embrace these tourists and to make their visit to the Metro a memorable one by showcasing the friendliness of a "very special city".
The Queen Mary ll is scheduled to dock at 4am on Monday and then depart again at around 5 pm. The welcoming ceremony is scheduled to take place between 10 am and 11h30am.
Members of the public are advised to enter the harbour through the Jetty Street entrance but it should be noted that due to security reasons no one will be allowed on board.
On Friday the Queen Mary 2 docked in Cape Town harbour.
(Pic:Henk Krug)
