Inside the world’s longest river cruise vessel in India
- MV Ganga Vilas is the world’s longest river cruise
- It first set sail in January of last year
- Locals call it a ‘five-star hotel’ floating on water
Published on Jun 18, 2024 at 12:42 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja
Last updated on Jun 18, 2024 at 5:31 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
India has a luxury ship, the MV Ganga Vilas, the world’s longest river cruise that first came out last year and almost immediately became completely booked until March of this year.
Upon its announcement, the vessel became quite the hype because the country’s Prime Minister himself sent off the ship on its first journey.
Since it’s a river cruise, it has a fixed route — covering several states, historic landmarks, and religious destinations.
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The world’s longest river cruise set sail last year
MV Ganga Vilas is a 62-meter-long and 12-meter-wide vessel that travels around the country’s coastlines.
It’s certainly not the world’s longest cruise ship, but it’s a river cruise — and it’s the longest river cruise vessel, which is still something.
The Icon of the Seven Seas holds the former title at 364 meters long.
MV Ganga Vilas might be a fraction of that, but it has its perks.
It first set sail in January 2023, starting off from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and traveled almost 2,000 miles.
Moreover, it covered almost 50 city destinations, including Patna in Bihar, Sahibganj in Jharkhand, and Kolkata in West Bengal.
The ship also went international by visiting Dhaka in Bangladesh before finally stopping at Guwahati, Assam.
What’s even more interesting is that during this journey, MV Ganga Vilas traveled through 27 river systems, sailing across three major rivers — Ganga, Meghna, and Brahmaputra.
MV Ganga Vilas is a ‘five-star hotel’ on water
Some locals said that the river cruise is nothing short of a five-star hotel from the inside.
It features 18 luxury suites for passengers spread across three decks embedded with the latest tech.
That should be enough for you and everyone you know to live on it forever, just like this man who spends 300 days on a cruise every year.
Further, the cruise features multiple restaurants, spas, a sun bath, and a sun deck.
Even if it’s not as big as a luxury cruise ship, you will have plenty to do.
Antara Cruises, the owner of the vessel, mentioned that a 51-day trip would cost customers Rs 1.26 million, or $15,000.
If you ever plan to go on a trip aboard the MV Ganga Vilas, you would have to book in advance because it gets sold out pretty quickly.
Siddharth Dudeja
Siddharth is a tech nerd with a secret love of all things cars. He has been writing for a few years now, and on his free time you would find him gaming when he's not procrastinating.
