The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will start India''s first indigenous cruise liner from September 18. In a tie-up with Cordelia Cruises, a private company, it will begin the first cruise from September 18.
"IRCTC has joined hands and signed the agreement with Cordelia Cruises being operated by M/s Waterways Leisure Tourism Pvt. Ltd for promotion and marketing of the first indigenous luxury cruise in India. This is another incredible luxury travel offering under IRCTC''s umbrella of tourism services to the public," the railway PSU said in a statement.
"Cordelia Cruises is India''s premium cruise liner. It aspires to promote and drive the cruise culture in India through experiences that are stylish, luxurious, and most importantly, inherently Indian. It is a cruise liner for Indians catering to the way Indians love to holiday," it said.
1. Bookings can be done on the IRCTC website
2. Guests on board the ship will sail to some of the best Indian and international destinations like Goa, Diu, Lakshadweep, Kochi, and Sri Lanka.
3. Cordelia Cruises is starting its first journey from September 18 and in its first phase will sail through Indian destinations with its base at Mumbai, while later from May 2022 the cruise will be shifted to Chennai and set sail to destinations in Sri Lanka like Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee and Jaffna.
4. Some of the popular tour itineraries of Cordelia Cruises are: Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai, Mumbai-Diu-Mumbai, Mumbai-At sea-Mumbai, Kochi-Lakshadweep – At sea – Mumbai, Mumbai–At sea–Lakshadweep– At sea –Mumbai among others.
5. Cordelia Cruises will have a lot of recreational and leisure activities such as restaurants, swimming pool, bars, open cinemas, theatre, kids area, gymnasium.
6. As per COVID-19 protocol, crew members are fully vaccinated and daily health checks for the crew members, hourly sanitisation of the facilities, air-filtration and social distancing norms would also be followed. The number of guests will also be limited according to the official mandate by the government. There is also a fully-functional medical centre on board the cruise equipped with all the required medical essential items.