On Sunday morning (25 January), the Costa Line cruise ship Costa Victoria, carrying 1,300 Chinese passengers, berthed at the Tien Sa Port.  60% of them were taken on organised tours to some of the popular tourist attractions in Da Nang, Hue and Hoi An cities.  The others enjoyed self-discovery journeys around the city and shopped at local markets.

Earlier, on 15 January, the Holland America Line’s MS Volendam carrying 1,350 passengers from the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and other countries, had docked at the port.  Operated by the Destination-Asia tourism company, the ship then left for Ha Long Bay and Hong Kong and then came back to Da Nang on 23 January.

Cruise ship passengers enjoying a walk along Bach Dang Street

On 19 January, the Japan-registered Nippon Maru arrived.  Arranged by the Saigontourist travel agency, the 380 mainly Japanese passengers were taken to the city’s popular tourist attractions, including the Linh Ung Pagoda and the Marble Mountains, and also enjoyed shopping time at the Han Market, Big C Mall, and other venues.

Also docking on 19 January was the 5-star cruise ship Star Pride carrying 100 passengers from the UK, the USA and Canada.  Arranged by the Destination-Asia tourism company, the ship stayed overnight in the city allowing its passengers to spend more time shopping and visiting local attractions or taking tours to Hoi An and Hue cities.