Antara Luxury River Cruises is launching the world’s longest luxury river cruise, Ganga Vilas Cruise, in January next year. The ship will set sail from Varanasi for a 50-day cruise covering 4,000 miles. Meanwhile, the cruise offers the chance to explore much of India in a relaxed and luxurious way. Read on to find out more about the world’s longest luxury river cruise, launching January 10.
Ganga Vilas Cruise with Antara Luxury River Cruises
The Antara Ganga Vilas Cruise is ideal for fans of the cruising life, looking for something unique. Dubbed the world’s longest luxury river cruise, the ship departs from Varanasi on January 10 for a 50-day, 4,000-mile journey through India.
Antara Luxury River Cruises are working to increase India’s inland water tourism with this latest offering. The news was recently released of the company’s plans to launch the world’s longest luxury river cruise.
Where does the cruise go?
The Ganga Vilas Cruise takes travelers from the heart of Uttar Pradesh to the remote corners of Assam, while also journeying through Bangladesh. After leaving on January 10, the Ganga Vilas cruise will pass cities like Dhaka and Kolkata along the way. Moreover, the cruise covers 27 different Indian river systems and offers visits to more than 50 popular tourist sites, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Meanwhile, after 50 days, the cruise ship reaches its final destination of Bogibeel in the Dibrugarh District of Assam on March 1.
Boosting India’s waterway tourism hub
News 18 quotes Sarbananda Sonowal, the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in India as saying in an interview:
This will be the single largest river journey by a single river ship in the world and would put both India and Bangladesh on the river cruise map of the world.
Minister Sonowal added that the development of coastal and river shipping, including cruise services, is one of the Indian government’s top priorities. He explained that services of this kind can tap into India’s enormous potential as a waterway tourism hub. Meanwhile, besides boosting tourism in the area, the development of the waterways will also benefit India’s logistics systems with the facilitation of trade and cargo movement.
Moreover, the Gangas Vilas cruise will be a first-of-its-kind cruise service, running on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The private players in the cruise are Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises, working with a government partnership from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
About the cruise ship
The Antara Gangas Vilas cruise vessel offers 18 luxurious suites and other facilities, including dining, lounge and bar areas and a relaxing deck. According to Antara, the vessel has been built with a unique design and a futuristic vision. Moreover, along the 4,000-mile journey, passengers will experience a voyage into India’s art, culture, history, spirituality and more.
Readers can visit Antara’s website to find out more about the new luxury river cruise and the various cultural adventures along the way.