It's time for pleasure voyages! Blue Ocean Cruises brings its newly-acquired cruise liner MV OceanLife to the Indian waters.
On November 9, it begins operations along the Western coastline. Mumbai, Goa and Lakshwadeep figure prominently in its packages; occasional cruises to Diu and Porbandar will be undertaken.
The main cruises are: Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai (two nights), Mumbai-high seas (one night) and Mumbai-Lakshadweep-Mumbai (four nights).
Refurbished in 2008 at Rs. 100 crore, MV OceanLife looks her best. The vessel has 230 cabins and can accommodate 574 passengers. A conference hall with a seating capacity of 250 people is an attraction.
Other features include a large swimming pool, three hot tubs, a spa, wellness, gaming and chill-out zones, pool bar, and lounge restaurant (offering Indian and international cuisines), shopping spaces, a casino and a special entertainment space for kids.
Cabin rates range from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 9,000 for one person for a night (kids up to age five sail free). “Five meals a day by the Taj Group is covered by this expenditure,” says Raju Moza, head of business development, Blue Ocean Cruises. The relatively expensive cabins are few.
The many options
“We charge passengers on a per-night basis. For example, this enables someone on a Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai cruise to stay back at Goa; he'll be charged only for the trip up to Goa,” says Raju.
The past experiences of Louis Cruises and Star Cruises show that the Indian waters pose a big challenge to cruise liner operators.
Aware of this, Blue Ocean Cruises has created a vast network of distributors and agents that will promote the brand and steer the business.
It has taken on board reputed players in the leisure business such as Akqua Sun Holidays India and Shakthi Tours & Travels.
Part of a pyramidal structure, Akqua Sun primarily takes care of southern India while Shakthi Tours & Travels will aid its operations in Tamil Nadu. Customers from Chennai who travel by air to Mumbai for the cruise, can contact Shakthi Tours & Travels for special air packages.
Besides working on its off-shore strengths, Blue Ocean Cruises is trying to make its on-board services as flexible as possible.
For instance, a safe arrangement is in place on the cruise liner's top deck to raise a fire for a wedding.
For bookings, call Shakti Tours on 42179800.
For more information, call Blue Ocean Cruises on 022-42224777 or log on to www.blueoceancruises.com
