IRCTC to launch India's first luxury cruise liner from September 18

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation will start India's first indigenous cruise liner from September 18, the railway PSU said on Wednesday

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will start India's first indigenous cruise liner from September 18, the railway PSU said on Wednesday.

In a tie-up with Cordelia Cruises, a private company, it will begin the first cruise from September 18 for which bookings can be done on the IRCTC website http://www.irctctourism.com

"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.

IRCTC said guests on board the ship will have an experience of sailing to some of the best Indian and international destinations like Goa, Diu, Lakshadweep, Kochi, and Sri Lanka.

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.

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, MumbaiAt seaLakshadweep At sea Mumbai among others.

"While travelling on Cordelia Cruises, one can enjoy lot of recreational and leisure activities such as restaurants, swimming pool, bars, open cinemas, theatre, kids area, gymnasium," the statement said.

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.

Beside the luxury cruises in India, IRCTC is also in the process of signing agreements with all major international cruise liners and will provide their bookings on its web portal as soon as the COVID-19 situation normalises and the international cruises start their operations.