The luxurious 13-deck MSC Splendida cruise ship docked at the Port of Cape Town on Wednesday morning, and rubbernecking motorists who could see the massive vessel docked at the passenger cruise terminal and the coming and going of passengers, added to the city's peak-hour traffic woes.
The ship is almost 20 years old and was the company's largest cruise ship to dock in South Africa. According to the MSC Cruises website, the ship can carry up to 4 363 passengers, and has about 1 370 crew members on board.
On Wednesday, traffic was crawling on roads leading into the CBD as people slowed down to look at the 333m long vessel that towers a total of 66.8m in height, while passengers disembarking and embarking added several vehicles to the city's road network.