Spectacular view: An aerial photograph of ‘Mariner of the Seas’ (right) and ‘Superstar Gemini’ berthed at Swettenham Pier in George Town, Penang captured by a drone camera.
GEORGE TOWN: Three cruise liners took a total of 9,114 passengers and crew members for a day trip on the island.
Believed to be the first time three liners called on Penang on the same day, it gave tourism operators an unexpected bounty but caused massive traffic snarls throughout the inner city.
Scores of taxis and passenger vans made a beeline for Swettenham Pier and clogged the area’s roads when the gargantuan Mariner of the Seas with its 15 decks loomed above the seaside buildings from 8am to 5pm yesterday.
She delivered 3,662 passengers and 1,235 crew members while the smaller Costa Victoria berthed from 7am to 2pm with 915 passengers and 760 crew members.
Shortly after Costa Victoria left, the familiar Superstar Gemini arrived from 4pm to midnight and sent another 1,479 passengers and 1,063 crew members out for a quick visit.
All three liners came from Singapore. Mariner of the Seas and Costa Victoria are heading to Phuket, and Superstar Gemini to Langkawi.
Penang Global Tourism assistant manager Jason Sim said this was the first time the island saw three liners berthed here on the same day.
“We lost Superstar Libra when she left Penang and made Xiamen her home port in July. But what happened is that the vacancy opened up the pier for more liners to call at once,” he said.
On Saturday, Sapphire Princess – home-ported in Singapore – had also dropped by from 3pm to 9pm with 2,973 passengers and a crew of 1,086.
Among those who noticed the flood of tourists was drone camera pilot K.Y. Chew from Se Vena Networks Sdn Bhd.
Chew launched her drone camera and captured Mariner of the Seas and Superstar Gemini berthed together at 4.30pm yesterday.
“I sent my drone 375m above sea level to capture the liners. From the sky, they made the island even more beautiful! But traffic was horrendous throughout the inner city.
“Tourists were streaming out of the pier and taxi and van drivers were frantically trying to get their attention by offering to take them to places of interest.
“Penang needs better infrastructure and traffic management if we are to be a destination for cruise liners,” she said after contributing her aerial photos to The Star.
When contacted, Association of Tourism Attractions Penang chairman Ch’ng Huck Theng said Penang was world-renowned, “but the state needs to be ready to take in the increasing number of tourists to Penang coming by sea and air”.
