Vessel M.V. Saivaishnavi anchored at Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK
‘Vizag Cruiser’, the first sea-based cruise tourism venture of Andhra Pradesh, is likely to be available for tourists in the next one or two months.
As per the plans, cruise ship MV Sai Vaishnavi will ferry within 10 nautical miles in the Indian territorial waters off Visakhapatnam coast in the Bay of Bengal.
The authorities are waiting for the allotment of a dedicated jetty to berth the cruise ship.
The Andhra Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) is in talks with the Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) to allot the jetty adjacent to the Marine Police Station for the cuise ship as the jetty has direct access from Beach Road.
Shore & Ship Resorts Private Limited (Gill Marines) owns the 80-seater vessel MV Sai Vaishnavi, which remains moored at Jetty No. 7 of Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour.
The interior view of 80-seater MV Sai Vaishnavi
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK
The double-deck vessel has twin-engine, air-conditioned wardrooms suitable for parties, family functions, corporate events, business meetings and anniversaries.
Six packages
As per the plans, the cruise ship will offers packages in six categories.
Morning Waves, an hour-long package includes serving coffee and breakfast on board. Suitable for small groups of friends and families, the cruise time will be between 6 am and 11 am, with ticket price starting from ₹1,500 per person.
The second category is Midday Mingle, which includes serving lunch and refreshments on board. The price starts from ₹1,000 per person and the cruise timing will be from 11 am to 1 pm.
The third category, titled Sunset Cruise, includes serving snacks and a guided tour of the scenic spots from 4 pm to 7 pm. The price starts from ₹1,250 per person.
Serenade Dinner Party Cruise includes serving dinner and music performances from 7 pm to 10 pm. The price starts from ₹4,000 per person.
Priced at ₹1,750 per person, Morning Dive offers scuba diving excursions to popular dive spots. The Mariner’s Daylong Adventure offers a full day trip with accommodations and activities such as photo shoots, film shoots and fishing. The timings are from 6 am to 6 pm and the price starts from ₹2 lakh excluding taxes.
Vessel owner Surender Singh Gill said, “It is a small vessel compared to Cordelia Cruises. We are a day cruise operator. We take people to the sea for one or two hours. The maximum capacity of the vessel is 80. The floating jetty work (dump pontoon) is already in progress. We have requested the authorities to provide a suitable jetty to start operations. We will cancel the cruise services during inclement weather conditions.”
VPA Secretary T. Venugopal said that some domestic cruise operators had approached the port authorities. “We are keen to support the tourism project. We are waiting for the latest proposal document from the officials.”
Speaking to The Hindu, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department Special Chief Secretary Ajay Jain said, “We are going to introduce cruise services in Visakhapatnam soon. We are currently working on it.”
Published – February 23, 2025 05:20 am IST
