Monaco cruise liner to have stopovers at various ports in India

Monaco based major cruise liner, Silversea Cruises will include various ports in India including the ports in Odisha during its Asian expedition itinerary.

The 120-guest Silver Discoverer cruise ship of the Silversea Cruises in its 14 night Asia expedition voyage, will reach Chennai in January. Its voyage will cover visit to the other ports like Vishakpatnam, Paradip, Sundarbans, Mahehkhali island, St. Martin Island (Bangladesh), Ngapali beach, Rakhine state, Mawlamyine&Hpa and Port Yazar in Yangoon in Myanmar.

The first port of call in Odisha is Paradip on January 26, 2019 . The liner was also keen to include Gopalpur port so that it can show case the guests Asia’s largest brackish water Chilika lake, and witness the migratory birds, Irrawaddy dolphins as well as the endangered Olive Ridley turtles in Puri and Ganjam district.

“The tour will cover visit to the ancient Buddhist heritage site at Ratnagiri,Udayagiri and Lalitagiri of Jajpur district in Odisha. These maiden calls will provide the much required boost to the cruise tourism in the state and in particular to upcoming ports like Gopalpur. The state has plenty of experiences to offer with our rich natural and cultural heritage”, said Bejamine Simone, founder of Travel Link, one of the oldest tour operator companies in Odisha.

“It is time now when the international cruise business is shifting focus to India we need to engage and enhance cruise passenger terminal facilities at existing ports with seamless immigration, custom services and tourist assistance facilities along with the offering of local arts and crafts shopping at the sites , which can generate income and support to the local community. This will also encourage entrepreneurs to invest and enhance their business prospects, he added.

Silversea Cruises operates a global portfolio of itineraries to all seven continents and over 900 destinations worldwide.