A one-way Mumbai-Goa flight ticket ranges between Rs 2,000 and 3,500, depending on how many days prior the booking is made
A luxurious voyage in the Arabian Sea on a cruise ferry service between Goa and Mumbai is going to cost you nearly Rs 5,000 for one night. This also means that the charge for the service, an initiative of the Mumbai Port Trust, is going to be costlier than the flight journey between the two cities.
A one-way Mumbai-Goa flight ticket ranges between Rs 2,000 and 3,500, depending on how many days prior the booking is made. Even in case of the premium Tejas Express, the maximum fare is around Rs 2,500.
Yashodhan Wanage, deputy chairman of MbPT, said the fare for the for Mumbai-Goa cruise ferry is the prerogative of the private operator who will run the service. "However, the approximate sailing and staying charges overnight is going to Rs 5,000 for single journey. Those who opt for return journey from Goa back to Mumbai will have to shell out about Rs 10,000."
These charges do not include charges for food and other luxuries onboard.
Wanage said trial runs are already underway and they plan to start the services by February. It will take nearly 16 hours to complete the journey.
A comparison with airfare, MbPT officials said, is not correct since the service will be treated as luxury, tourism and leisure and not an essential mode of transport.
The Mumbai-Goa cruise service will be able to handle 400 passengers at a time. It won't operate for four months during the monsoon.
The last such cruise ferry services were operational in the early 1990's after which they were shut. According to study outsourced by MbPT close to 4 million tourists will flock for sailing by cruise ferry services in India of which around 3 million will be from Mumbai Port.
Due to this, the MbPT is also carrying out the augmentation plans at the cruise terminal in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, in November 2017 cruise ferry services between Mumbai and Kochi were also started wherein the sailing charges start from around Rs 31,000 for four nights.
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