the goan I network
VASCO
The first domestic cruise vessel MV Angriya, which operates between Mumbai and Goa, arrived on its first trip of this tourist season to Goa on Tuesday morning.
MV Angriya is back in Goa after a gap of around 4 months, after departing on its last voyage of the previous season from Goa to Mumbai in mid-May.
According to sources, the MV Angriya arrived in Goa with around 160 passengers to mark the beginning of the tourist season, much to the delight of tourism stakeholders, especially taxis and coaches operating at Mormugao Port Trust Cruise jetty.
MV Angriya also sailed back on Tuesday evening after a short break carrying around 200 passengers from Goa to Mumbai.
“There was huge excitement as we had many passengers who had pre-booked tickets to board the first trip of the season from Goa to Mumbai. We have around 200-plus passengers that will be on board our cruise to Mumbai. We arrived on Tuesday morning and we are leaving today itself to Mumbai,” a source told The Goan.
“We have had a fantastic business in the previous season and we are extremely happy that we saw a lot of happy smiling passengers, most of whom were first-time cruisers who travelled with family. We look forward to a great season this year as well,” added the source.
Asked about the activity of the cruise boat in Mumbai during the monsoons, the source replied: “The ship was not operating its cruise between Goa and Mumbai during the monsoons so we took up some internal upgradation and changed some interiors. We also carried out maintenance of the ship during these last four months. Though we had plans to use the ship as a floating hotel in Mumbai, we did not find a proper location to anchor the ship and besides, the monsoons were also very severe this year.”
It may be recalled that the MV Angriya, which had a soft launch in March last year, began domestic cruise operations between Goa and Mumbai in October 2018, becoming the nation’s first domestic cruise to offer passengers an option to cruise while travelling between Goa and Mumbai in a travel time of around 14 hours.
The MV Angriya has a capacity to ferry around 400 passengers.
