KOCHI: After a two-month wait, cruise vessel ‘The Nefertiti’ is all set for her maiden voyage on December 16. This voyage will take her on a six-hour cruise in the Arabian Sea. With the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) receiving the group bookings, the cruise is all set to offer its exhilarating experience to its guests. The 200-seat vessel includes a lounge bar, a banquet hall, 3D theatre, sun deck and children’s play area.
“We are expecting at least four bookings this month,” said a KSINC official. Incurring a loss of over `60 lakh, as its maintenance cost over three months, KSINC believes they can regain the losses in the coming months.
“So far, we have received two confirmed group bookings and we are expecting two more this month. In the initial stages, it’ll be a struggle. But with more and more bookings, we’ll soon fall into track,” the official said.
The vessel was lying idle for over two months as it was awaiting a bar licence and a proper jetty. Nefertiti was proposed as ‘Sagar Rani 3’, then its operations were set to begin from the ‘Sagar Rani’ jetty itself. But later, when facilities of the vessel improved, it became bigger and the jetties in Kochi were in no position to anchor it.