Ganga Vilas cruise sails off for 52 days at Rs 13 lakh per ticket

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (January 13) flagged off the world's longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, in Varanasi. The cruise will begin its journey from PM Modi's constituency, and sail around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh.

The luxury cruise arrived at Varanasi's Ramnagar Port on Tuesday. It had departed Kolkata on December 22 and was initially scheduled to reach Varanasi on Saturday. However, it arrived late due to bad weather conditions.

PM Modi said MV Ganga Vilas cruise service will boost tourism, create new job opportunities, and is also beneficial for the environment.

Route: Ganga Vilas Cruise will cross Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bangladesh, and Assam in a journey of 51 days. These places have their own history of mythology and legends associated with the river.

• MV Ganga Vilas will begin its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh.

Itinerary: The 51 days cruise is planned with visits to 50 tourist spots including World Heritage Sites, National Parks, River Ghats, and major cities like Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Kolkata in West Bengal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Guwahati in Assam.

• Folk musicians from Assam, Bihar, and Bengal will join popular singer Shankar Mahadevan to pay homage to the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and Brahmaputra. The show, of about an hour, will end with Shankar Mahadevan's rendition of 'Kartavya Ganga'.

About the ship: MV Ganga Vilas has three decks, 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists, with all the luxury amenities. The maiden voyage has 32 tourists from Switzerland signing up for the entire length of the journey.

• The cruise will have a capacity of 80 passengers with 18 suites. Apart from this, it has accommodation for 40 crew members
• There is an STP plant on this cruise so that no sewage flows into the Ganges as well as a filtration plant that purifies the Ganga water for bathing and other purposes.

Ticket price: A ticket for the Ganga Vilas cruise would cost you over Rs 12.59 lakh for a 51-day trip. The ticket price per person per day is Rs 24,962.25 or $300, according to Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. Tickets for the Ganga Vilas cruise can be booked via the Antara Cruises website, the company that operates the Ganga Vilas cruise.

Number of days: The entire trip from Varanasi to Dibrugarh will take 51 days.

Restaurant, spa, and bar: The ship will also include a luxurious restaurant, spa, and sundeck. In its 40-seat restaurant on the main deck, there are a few buffet counters serving Continental and Indian food, reported ABP News.

According to authorities, the outdoor environment on the upper deck contains a bar with real teak steamer chairs and coffee tables, reported ABP.

Tourists from Europe: As many as 36 tourists from three countries, including Switzerland and Germany, are taking the 51-day cruise. 32 tourists are from Switzerland alone.