I had the opportunity to view and land into Melaka by sea last Thursday. Took the Italian owned cruise ship named Costa Victoria. Due to the shallow Melaka river, the 282metres medium ship has to anchor about 200 metres off the river mouth.
Smaller feeder boats were used to ferry passengers onto the shore. Certainly, the old river berth was not well suited to receive visitors by sea. There is a new berth opposite the old one but it was not used. Wonder why. The new berth will give overseas visitors a better impression of Melaka.
There was a report that a better and state of the art new berth designed specially for cruise ships is to constructed at the Melaka Gateway. A reputable cruise operator, Royal Carribean is keen to invest in this new cruise berth.
After taking this cruise, it has a big potential for getting overseas visitors into Melaka. A medium size ship can carry more than 1,500 passengers and another 750 crew.
Tours can be pre-arranged, beca operators, taxis and other service providers can offer their services. Though the ships only visit for 6 hours, it is enough for getting business for our tour operators.
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