Antara River Cruises heralds a new era in luxury travel
Owned by Heritage River Journeys, Antara Cruises is India’s leading luxury river cruise company that owns and operates its fleet across the Indian rivers showcasing untouched and amazing destinations. The all-inclusive warm, personalised and unmatched Antara hospitality makes it the ideal choice for top international cruising partners. TTJ speaks to the dynamic duo, Raj Singh, Founder & Chairman of the Group and Hemant Mediratta, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Antara Cruises, both with invaluable background and hands-on experience in luxury hospitality, and who are steer guiding the company with a clear agenda and a roadmap to expand with new cruise ships and enhanced service offerings.
Tell us about Antara Luxury River Cruises?
Raj Singh: Antara, our new brand is an evolution of Heritage River Journeys, the pioneer of Indian River cruising operations for over 15 years, providing enthralling journeys (to mainly international travellers) in luxury sailings along rivers in India. Heritage River Journeys has been lauded as an experiential and luxurious and a unique way to see India and its hidden gems along riverbanks. We design, build and operate our own vessels and we wanted to further refine our hospitality services, facilities, itineraries, and ships to allow for more people, across India and overseas, to enjoy this truly immersive Indian experience, a wonderful way to explore the country’s ancient, authentic cultures. So, Antara Luxury River Cruises is the next step in the evolution of Heritage River Journeys.
Hemant Mediratta: Antara, derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Antar’ meaning ‘the distinction’, became a source of inspiration for us to make a difference and take you on a journey along the spiritual rivers of India to rediscover yourself and experience the joy of spending time with your loved ones in luxury.
Antara Luxury River Cruises is a brilliant celebration of life. Cruising along India’s mystical rivers with an all-inclusive suite offering, French balconies, and expansive social spaces, plush on-board amenities, unique gastronomy experiences, wellness and sunrise yoga, and an array of activities on and off-board make Antara cruises a perfect venue for a pre-wedding retreat, milestone events like anniversaries, birthdays, spiritual retreats and family reunion while sailing on the Ganges. Excursions, village explorations, wildlife sighting, birding, nature walks, we craft each itinerary and personalise every experience to suit our guests. We strive to offer you travel experiences that not just unique but transformational.
Tell us about the thrills of river cruise over contemporary cruising?
Raj Singh: The original definition of cruising stems from the golden age more than a millennia ago when travellers first sailed on small intimate vessels, filled with the excitement of the unknown, to explore the joys of traversing un-trodden paths beyond the water horizon, creating long-lasting friendships and cultural exchange along the way. This has been overtaken by colossal steel leviathans forcing bland experiences, segregation of travellers from local
peoples and culture, and wasting vast quantities of all resources.
In direct contrast to this process of unsustainable extraction, by the reintroducing River Cruising to India after 100 years we’ve sought to offer a different path to rediscovering the joys of travelling by water and visiting hidden locales as witnessed in antiquity. We strive to regain all that has been lost of the original definition, to immerse, exchange, build, and create mutual resonance in exceptional journeys of learning and self-discovery by and on the water.
Hemant Mediratta: Ocean cruising is more often than not associated with large ocean cruise liners. The consequences of such large vessels carrying 1000s of guests creating a little city in itself is not all rosy. The journeys can be lengthy and privacy, exclusivity, personalisation also tend to get lost on such cruise liners.
River cruising however is different. The first cruise of my life many years ago was a River Cruise in Europe and I found it to be a ‘real immersive experience’. In the past few years, all my holidays have been river cruises, and have travelled on most rivers in Europe. The joy of slow travel, no packing and unpacking, seeing a new destination every day and the familiarity and comfort with staff members for 7-10 days is truly a luxurious experience. In a river cruise, you are on water but not far away from land, the riverscapes give you a peek into local culture and life. Especially as they stop in small villages and towns which one would normally not venture to as they are not touristy. Hence true authentic experiential travel is something that makes river cruising very unique.
Challenges in the luxury cruising business especially in a market like India where cruising is yet to grow?
Raj Singh: The most important aspect here to address is the limited awareness of the concept of river cruising experience. River cruising is a relatively new concept for the Indian travellers with regards to an authentic exploration of our beautiful country, its culture, history while enjoying hospitality at its best. We believe that India has a myriad of stories set along its ancient river banks, together with unmatched hospitality and activities to rejuvenate the body and the mind, Antara offers a truly immersive experience, one that transforms and touches you at the core. We are looking forward to showcasing unchartered destinations through Antara’s unmatched hospitality.
Hemant Mediratta: Every challenge comes with opportunity. I believe our Indian consumers are looking for immersive, transformational experiences. River Cruising is a brilliant way to experience slow travel and rediscover yourself. Currently, the awareness of River Cruising in India may be low however it’s our vision to have an Antara Cruise in most navigable rivers of India. With this pioneering effort, we will be able to open a new segment of travellers and introduce Luxury River Cruising in India.
Your thoughts/idea of luxury onboard Antara Cruises to provide guests with more choice, control, and personalisation?
Raj Singh: The Antara advantage of all-inclusive service aboard small luxury ships gives guests the freedom and flexibility to determine their own selections, whilst our attentive crew is always on hand to support and facilitate additional requests. All our excursions, sightseeing, birding trips, historical viewings, etc. are crafted and led by handpicked in-house specialists and experts who guide guests through these experiences. The itineraries that our travel experts create are personalised, customised, and absolutely incredible, just as our promise of unmatched hospitality.
Hemant Mediratta: Luxury is very personal and we want to encourage our guests to do what they love in the best possible manner on our ships. We have the highest staff to suite ratio so there is extreme personalisation and every experience on Antara can be individually curated for you. Our butler service ensures you are well looked after when you enjoy the riverscapes from your lavish suites or spacious sundeck or the bar. The all-inclusive cruise also ensures that you don’t have to ever think of dipping into your pocket for anything you want onboard. It’s all about carefree, relaxed, slow travel to discover yourself and create unforgettable memories on an Antara Cruise.
Tell us about your cruise ships / routes and expansion plans?
Raj Singh: We design and build each of our handcrafted ships in
Indian tradition, handcraft from the steel hull to the textiles in the lounge, inspired by traditional motifs, history, and naval traditions of our region. To ensure a seamless flow of the inherent Antara experience, it was time for us to rebrand, restructure, and expand. I am extremely happy to have Hemant on-board at this transformational time. Together, will be driving new business, new strategies as well as implementing infrastructure development.
Hemant Mediratta: Currently, we operate two ships Ganges Voyager 1 and Ganga Voyager 2 on the Ganga which are stationed in Kolkata and sail all the way to Varanasi and Dhaka. We will be introducing at least 2 more ships by October 21, as well as bringing new offerings and experiences in the coming months. There is active investor interest but we are well funded for now and will choose our potential investors who are like-minded and buy into our vision of what we want Antara cruises to be. We are innovating as we expand our routes and services to our guests.
Tell us about your promotion plans and marketing strategies in these difficult times and even post the pandemic?
Raj Singh: We’ve been the only river cruise line to showcase the best of India by water at global river cruising standards, along with the highest levels of hospitality. We hope that through the evolution into Antara and the innovative experiences we introduce; we share the joys of sailing the country’s waterways with a wider Indian audience.
Hemant Mediratta: Domestic Travel is our immediate and near term focus. We have introduced bespoke charters. We craft the most unforgettable intimate events and incentives, ensuring your groups can connect in more meaningful ways. We offer the complete buyout of our ships for charters ranging from 2-7 nights, on itineraries that are personalised as per your requirements for a maximum of 56 guests aboard. For us, each event is an opportunity to create new moments of magic, through meticulous attention to details, tailored experiences and flawless execution. Very soon we will introduce two new concepts which would be something the industry hasn’t seen before. I can only tell you this much that we are constantly striving to delight our guests and innovate to provide a wholesome and rich experience.