One luxurious river cruise is making historical past on an all-new Indian voyage.
On Friday, Antara Cruises launched its MV Ganga Vilas ship, a vessel set to journey 1,988 miles of waterways in India and Bangladesh. The journey spans 51 days, making it the world’s longest river cruise, in accordance with organizers. Whereas on the course, passengers will journey alongside the Ganges, India’s holiest river, in addition to different waterways by way of 5 states in western India. The ship may also enterprise into the neighboring South Asian nation of Bangladesh, visiting its nationwide parks, UNESCO World Heritage websites and large cities.
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The MV Ganga Vilas is designed to hold 36 passengers in 18 luxe suites, in addition to 48 crew. As a result of the long-haul cruise was solely marketed in Europe, its preliminary spherical of passengers are from Switzerland, France and different international locations. The ship’s interiors are impressed by Twentieth-century works by German painter Josef Albers, identified for his vibrant shade sq. work. The cruise was initially deliberate to set sail in 2020 however was delayed by the pandemic.
Based on CNN, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees the cruise as one of many centerpieces of his authorities’s infrastructure initiatives. He even made a speech in December that acknowledged the cruise as a development that might deliver extra guests to India, residence of the Himalayas, the Golden Temple and the Holi Pageant. “This might be an unprecedented cruise of its variety in the entire world,” Modi stated in a press release. “It would even be a mirrored image of the rising cruise tourism (trade) in India.”
River cruises have been well-liked in Europe and North America for a while, with a number of firms recurrently trailing the Danube, Rhine and Seine. However the idea continues to be pretty new in India seeing because the nation’s rivers—most notably the Ganges—proceed to battle with extreme air pollution. However there are plans underway to extend alternatives for river tourism in India. One among its incentives consists of constructing 10 passenger ship terminals alongside Nationwide Waterway-2, an 891-kilometer part of the Brahmaputra River. The nation additionally has eight river cruise ships which might be able to touring between Varanasi and Kolkata.
Kashif Siddiqui, Antara’s director of gross sales and advertising, instructed CNN in an interview that the plan is to run the practically 2,000-mile cruise on the Ganges twice a 12 months between October and March when the climate is sweet and the river water is excessive. Tickets to board the MV Ganga Vilas prices between 4.2 million to 4.5 million rupees, or $51,114 to $54,765 per visitor. Siddiqui claims tickets for 2 scheduled 2024 voyages have already offered out.
Antara additionally presents a number of upscale cruise itineraries aboard the MV Ganga Vilas which might be shorter in period. One route from Kolkata to Murshidabad in West Bengal runs for eight days and prices 292,875 rupees, or $3,500, whereas a visit from Kolkata to Varanasi lasts 12 days and prices 437,250 rupees ($5,300). For extra particulars, go to the Antara website.
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