Fifty-one days and 3,200 kilometers can be really long on a river cruise. But the trip may be worth it if you have a super-luxury suite decorated in Indian ethos, three decks to soak in some sunshine, a 40-seater multi-cuisine restaurant, modern spa, live music and a 40-member crew attending to you. No wonder, the cruise is fully booked for the next two years, say the organisers.
Welcome to the MV Ganga Vilas which will set sail from Varanasi on Friday after virtually being inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Thirty-two Swiss tourists will be the first passengers on the trip, occupying 18 super-luxury suites that are said to reflect Indian ethos, have wooden flooring and other amenities for ultimate comfort. The Swiss tourists have already spent a night on the cruise which is parked in Varanasi and they received a royal welcome at Varanasi airport on Tuesday.
So what is special about this cruise? As per details with News18, the three-deck cruise is designed to offer a wholesome luxury experience to the passengers, costing almost Rs 12.6 lakh per person for the entire trip. The ship is ‘Made in India’ with identical suites that have luxury interiors in soothing tones of orange, green and yellow. The cruise is also designed to be eco-friendly with its own sewage treatment unit and ensures oil does not enter the rivers.
A less-polluting version of diesel is being used as part of that initiative as well, besides the instruction of no plastic water bottles on board and an efficient garbage disposal system. The ship is about 62 meters long and 13 meters wide and can house a total of 80 people, including the 40-member crew that will be on board for the trip. A 40-seater restaurant will cater to the capacity of three dozen passengers.
The Swiss passengers are being treated like royalty and were taken on a Kashi tour on Wednesday to sights like the Ganga Aarti on the Dashwamedh Ghat. This cruise will start as a regular one from September and has been modeled by Antara which runs several other cruises in India. The company says it is built with a unique design and a futuristic vision to rank among the best cruises in the world.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be in Varanasi on Thursday to review the arrangements ahead of the prime minister’s function on Thursday to flag off the cruise and inaugurate a tent city.
The Journey
MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel around 3,200 kilometres in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh. The rivers that will be crossed include the Ganges and the mighty Brahmaputra. The 51-day cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots, including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, River Ghats, and cities like Patna, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.
“The journey will give the tourists an opportunity to embark upon an experiential voyage and indulge in the art, culture, history, and spirituality of India and Bangladesh,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday. In line with PM’s endeavour to boost river cruise tourism, the huge untapped potential of river cruise will get unlocked with the launch of this service and it will herald a new age of river cruise tourism for India, the PMO added.
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