Size does matter

  • 2007-06-11
  • By Joel Alas and wire reports
Regular passenger ferries docked at the Port of Tallinn on Sunday June 10 were dwarfed by the arrival of the Navigator of the Seas. Crowds flocked to the seafront to photograph the massive cruise ship, which is the largest vessel ever to visit Tallinn.

At 311 meters long, the Navigator of the Seas is a third bigger than Tallinn's largest regular passenger ferry. The ship carries 3,800 passengers and 1,200 crew, and is equipped with an ice rink, nine-hole golf course, basketball court and theater auditorium.

The Bahamian flagged ship spends most of the year sailing in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

But the ship isn't a stranger to Baltic waters 's after all, it was built in Finland and made its maiden voyage through the Baltic Sea in 2002. And it won't be the last visit, either. The Navigator of the Seas is scheduled to return to Tallinn on September 3.

Baltic Sea cruises remain popular among European and American tourists alike, the Port of Tallinn said. In 2006, 292 cruise ships docked in Tallinn, bringing 307,569 visitors.