CM Stalin flags off luxury cruise ship from Chennai
The tour will be available in two-day, three-day and five-day packages
In a major boost to the State tourism industry and to match the pace of Mumbai and Goa that thrive on luxury cruise voyages, the Tamil Nadu government in coordination with the Cordelia Cruises, launched its own luxury cruise services operating from the State capital.
Chief Minister MK Stalin, accompanied by government officials, on Saturday flagged off the service, which is available in two-day, three-day and five-day packages at a price range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 96,000 per person.
To begin with, services would be available from Chennai to Vizag via Puducherry. Like in all cruises, the Cordelia Cruise would offer casino and entertainment on board during the voyage from Chennai to the high sea and back to Chennai before anchoring briefly at Vizag and Puducherry ports. According to official sources, the State Tourism Department is confident that the cruise service will draw more traction once when Sri Lanka bounces back, attracting tourists towards the Island nation strategically located close to Chennai.
In just a few hundred dollars or less than the price of a business class air ticket to Delhi, anyone can experience the pomp and comfort of the cruises so far only enjoyed by the rich, thanks to the Tourism Department’s initiative that got Cordelia Cruises to launch its luxury cruise services from Chennai, sources said. On Saturday, veshti and saree clad Tamil speaking seemingly middle-class men and women of Tamil Nadu graced the decks of the ship anchored in Chennai Port, said an official.
Stalin was offered a brief tour of the ship by its captain before the former flagged it off.
Going by the details posted on its official website, a two-day journey ticket from Chennai to Vizag would cost Rs 26,118 for an adult on deck 3 - 4 in an interior standard cabin, while a suite on decks 7, 8 and 9 would cost Rs 95,110 for the journeys commencing on June 8. Ocean view and mini suite category cabins are also available for different price ranges.