The 51-day luxury journey covering five Indian states, and Bangladesh will cost ₹50-55 lakh per passenger. However, one will have to wait for more than a year to get a suite in the luxury ship, which will cruise across 17 river systems as it is fully booked till March 2024, according to the news agency PTI. 

The bookings for the world’s longest cruise are available for tours from April 2024 onwards.

The holiday promises an experiential voyage as the tourists will get a chance to indulge in the art, culture, history and spirituality of India and Bangladesh.

The cost of the entire length of the journey from Varanasi to Dibrugarh on the world’s longest river cruise — MV Ganga Vilas — will be around ₹50-55 lakh per passenger, Antara Luxury River Cruises Vice President Saudamini Mathur said.

Antara Luxury River Cruises is operating MV Ganga Vilas. Mathur said the cruise is fully booked till March 2024 and bookings are available beyond that. Most of the tourists who have secured seats are from the US and Europe.

The luxury cruise has three decks and 18 suites on board with a capacity of 36 tourists with all the luxury amenities. The tourists will be served local food and seasonal vegetables, Mathur said as quoted by PTI. 

Antara Luxury River Cruises founder and CEO Raj Singh said there will be no non-veg food or liquor on board.

The ship has 39 crew members and its captain is Mahadev Naik who has more than 35 years of experience.

Speaking to PTI Knegar Krieger, a Swiss national who is on board for the maiden journey, said, “Traveling on the Ganges is a very special experience, it is once in a lifetime experience, not to be missed”.

Thommien Christian, another Swiss tourist, said: “Everything is fantastic on this cruise”.

The 51-day 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.

The travelers will also visit the Bihar School of Yoga and Vikramshila University.

MV Ganga Vilas vessel is 62 meters in length, and 12 meters in width and comfortably sails with a draft of 1.4 meters. All of the 18 suites have floor-to-ceiling windows that allow river views 24×7.

(With PTI inputs)