
KOCHI: Nefertiti – the first sea-going luxury cruise liner of the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) – raked in an impressive revenue collection of Rs 1.35 crore in December, thanks to the KSRTC, which has emerged as its top client for the first time.
“It’s a win-win scenario for both the state-run agencies. The KSRTC’s Budget Tourism Cell brought us a revenue of Rs 30 lakh last month with its Nefertiti tour package. The next best performer was a travel agent, bringing us a business of Rs 27 lakh. There has been a steady rise in the number of visitors availing of the KSRTC tour scheme since September. The cash-strapped KSRTC also stands to benefit from this,” said KSINC commercial manager Cyril V Abraham.
The three-decker cruise ship boasts world-class facilities, including a lounge bar, auditorium, banquet hall, 100-seat 3D theatre, restaurant, sun deck and children’s play area among others.
It conducted 30 trips in December last year to cater to the tourists arriving in KSRTC buses from various places across the state during the holiday season. The cruise will take the visitors to the scenic Kochi backwaters and the Arabian Sea for five hours.
“The cruise liner conducted 43 trips in December, out of which 30 carried the tourists who booked the ‘Nefertiti Evening DJ Cruise’ programme through KSRTC. Among the KSINC vessels, the highest number of trips conducted in December was the two ‘Sagararani’’ sea cruise vessels, which operated 85 trips in total. KSINC also conducted 47 backwater trips through its mini-cruise vessels ‘Michella’, ‘Cleopatra’ and ‘Sooryamshu’,” the official said.
KSRTC starts individual bookings for Nefertiti
With its group packages, being conducted from all its depots from Kasaragod to Parassala, turning out to be a hit, the KSRTC BTC has started taking individual bookings as well. This means a person can book the ‘Nefertiti’ package individually without travelling in the KSRTC bus at the same online rate offered by the KSINC.
“We started accepting individual bookings from December. Now, anyone can book the Nefertiti package by calling the dedicated number 9846475874,” said a senior BTC official.
A total of 3,477 passengers availed the ‘Nefertiti’ package of the KSRTC BTC since the sea-going cruise ship resumed operation in September 2024, after undergoing a major dry-docking in Goa, that cost over Rs 3 crore.
“We’ve operated a total of 91 trips so far since September, and will complete a ‘century’ by the coming month,” the official said.
Soon, Nefertiti to boast ‘12 D’ theatre
Tourists could soon have a further exhilarating experience on board ‘Nefertiti’ as the KSINC authorities plan to set up a ‘12-D’ theatre in the vessel. Visitors can experience a series of special effects, including wind effects, water spray, fog, lighting, bubble generators and leg ticklers.
“It will cost us Rs 20 lakh and we’ll be readying the same before the start of the next tourism season in September. Currently, the 12 D theatre is available only at Munnar,” the KSINC official said.
The Egyptian-themed ship is named after Nefertiti’, an Egyptian queen and wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten during the 14th century B.C, and literally translates to ‘beautiful companion’.