Nhan Dan- Eight hundred Australian cruise passengers of the Portuguese ship named Athena arrived in the Saigon Port yesterday, raising the number of cruise travellers received by Saigontourist so far this year to over 14,000.

From the Saigon harbour, the travellers, most of whom are Australian, will join  discovery travel trips from Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho and Cu Chi. They will also have the chance to go shopping in Ben Thanh market, watch water puppet performances and enjoy Mekong Delta specialities like coconut candies, fruit, and honey tea.

This is the first time the Portuguese Classical International Cruises Company has sent its luxurious Athena cruise ship to Vietnam, and it will be a good start for future co-operation between the two companies.

Saigontourist is also scheduled to receive the five-star cruise ship Columbus to Hai Phong and Nha Trang on March 17 and the five-star cruise ship Costa Allegra to Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang on March 9 and 23.