Essel Group's Zen Cruises eyes maiden sailing from April; charges to be around Rs 10,000 per day per person

Mumbai: Essel Group’s cruise business Zen Cruises Monday said its premiere cruise line Jalesh Cruises will begin her maiden sail in April from the city. The first ship under the brand will sail from Mumbai in April, following the traditional naming ceremony of the 2,000 passenger vessel, the company said in a statement. The multi-destination cruise line will offer entertainment shows, adventure activities and exotic authentic cuisines packed with international hospitality on the high sea, it added. “Zen Cruises wants to grow the cruise market as a whole. Our aim is to help a million Indians travel worldwide by 2025,” Zen Cruises president and chief executive Jurgen Bailom said. He expects to get 2,50,000 guests, with 177 cruises in the first year, with main port being Mumbai. The plans to charge Rs 10,000 per day per person. [caption id=“attachment_3798469” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The company had last year purchased its first ship, The Pacific Jewel, a 70,285-tonne, 2,000-passenger ship that was previously owned by Carnival Corporation and operated by P&O Cruises Australia. The cruise will also offer on-shore destinations and excursions across other ports in Chennai, Kochi, Mormugoa, Vizag and also international locations like Abu Dhabi, Colombo, Dubai, Muscat, Penang, and Singapore. “We are not only converting the Mumbai port for not only what we are handling in cargo but converting it into a water transport and sea tourism hub. For that, one of the key goals is to get these ships and the cruise tourism to start,” Mumbai Port Trust chairman Sanjay Bhatia said. The port charges is $0.35 per gross registered tonnage now down from $0.6 earlier, Bhatia added.