Hill Stations

This is a sail through rivers of Bengal from Gour dynasty, to the Ganga Sagar and through the creeks of Sunderbans, a distance of more than 1000 km covered in six nights. 

In this we cover Kolkata, Belur math, Chandannagar, Bandel, Chinsura, Serampore, Mayapur, Nawadwip, Palassy, Murshidabad, Kalna, Dakshineswar, Botanical gardens, Ganga sagar, Namkhana, Bhagavatpur, Lothian island, Nethidopani, Dobanke, Sudhayanakhali Bali village

It is an experience 
- Of various faces of the river - small, big and as large as a sea. some places very narrow as if hugging the shores with all its love, some places so wide as if allowing total freedom. 
- Of various moods of the river – somewhere quiet, somewhere restless; Serene, calm and yet full of life; full of activity 
- Of monuments, architecture, lush green fields, winding rivers, the mangroves and the wilderness.
- Of the art, culture, cuisine, lifestyle, music, dance 

The Cruises

The cruiser vessel M.V. Paramhamsa 
is a four-decked vessel  

Under Deck: Houses all utilities - kitchen, engine room, cold storage, washing and laundry room, crew accommodation, fuel and water tanks, sewage treatment plant etc.

Main Deck: Has 20 air-conditioned luxury passenger rooms with attached bath.

First Deck: Has 12 luxury Family Rooms, the Bar and Restaurant, the massage parlour with Steam and sauna facility and has a Promenade Deck which is converted into activity area like Gym etc. 

Sun Deck: This is the top deck of the ship. This part has been exclusively created for Nature viewing, sun lounging, Entertainment, Star gazing through Telescopes, night vision Binoculars etc. It can also accommodate open-air conferences with all facilities. 

Guest Rooms: 20 luxury rooms of 135 sq ft in the main deck and 12 Luxury Suites of 162 Sq ft in the first deck.

• All Rooms are River Facing 
• Air conditioned with individual controller 
• Attached Bath with Hot & Cold Water 
• Intercom facility 
• Personal Coffee/Tea Maker 
• Locker on request 
• The suites have extra bed provision

Bar and Restaurant

• Capacity 80 Pax 
• Terrace restaurant 
• Cuisines from all over the world 
• Live Kitchen to try out local recipes 

Activity Rooms

• Gym 
• Massage Rooms 
• Steam cum Sauna 
• Juice counter 
• Library and TV 
• Loungers 
• Gift Shop 

E-Zone

• 24hours wireless internet facility

Cruises Overview

Vivada offers weekly sailings of four days and three nights package, traversing the terrain of Sunderbans, East to West and North to South. 

Feast your eyes with the beautiful beach, river, village, forest, numerous creeks and islands rich in flora and fauna. You can enjoy a journey through the wonderful world of wildlife and the fabulous culture and traditions of rural Bengal.

With Nature at its best, tranquil yet wild, Sundarbans beckons both the young and oldwho are adventurous and dare to take the challenge of the unknown. It is also ideal for the ones seeking tranquility in cruising through the quiet waters of Sunderbans. 

While it is the most ideal setting for the families it could also be the most suitable venue for the businesses of the corporate icons with full fledged conference facility on board.

Cusine

Nature's beauty is not the only feast on the Cruiser. Our delectable cuisines offered by Chefs of repute prepare you for a memorable gastronomical journey. Our spacious Multicuisine Restaurant (The Mangrove) set amidst an serene ambience on the first deck, offer a combination of delectable gourmet from a variety of oriental and continental dishes. 

Here, in the prime location of the ship, aroma drifts, delicacies enthuse, service enthralls. We fuss over our guests with traditional Indian hospitality and lay out a lavish buffet for the gourmet in you.We pamper our guests with an amazing array of Regional Indian favourites which has a good mix of the traditional and the innovative. On offer are also Pan Asian culinary delights from the Chinese and Thai to the Oriental and an exquisite range of Western delicacies. 

So, be it a vegetarian's delight or a non-vegetarian's lip-smacking preparations, the Sunderban specials of prawn, shrimp and crabs will always be standing by, if you choose to sample ethnic taste. 

Our well-stocked bar (Matla) with a wide collection of choicest liquors will be at your service to wash down your sumptuous meal.

Enjoy the exotic, juicy Kebabs in the evenings on the Open Deck (Hooghly), or have a leisurely sip at a stimulating cup of Cappuccino at our Coffee Shop (Heron Point) perched on the terrace! 

You may also try your own recipe at the live kitchen counter as well!

Entertainment

The evenings will be lit up by the various entertainment programmes on board. An enriching time on the deck can be spent by enjoying the various shows planned for the evening.

The programmes will showcase rural Bengal through various folk songs and cultural activities. 

Itinerary

• Day 1 -
  • Check in at the Millennium Park Jetty by 8.30 AM. M.V. Paramhamsa will cast off at 9.00 AM, once all guests have checked in.
  • The cruiser sets sail along the beautiful Ganges towards the south, passing through the various heritage sites for seven hours to reach Namkhana, a fisherman's cove and the Gateway to Sunderbans. The guests can unwind, relax, soak in the beauty of the river, read books in the library, interact with artisans or take an Ayurvedic massage.
  • The cruiser will drop anchor at Namkhana for the night. The guests will have several choices – watching wild life film shows or a talk with a wild lifer and a dinner with music frommodern and traditional Bengal.  
• Day 2 -
  • At 5.30 AM the guests can see the spectacular sunrise, while the cruiser sails towards the east. This day the guests will experience the lifestyle of the people of Sunderbans, their traditions, culture along with the rich Biodiversity of the region. 
  • The busy fishing harbour will give an insight to the lifestyle of the fishermen. The guests can buy fresh fish and other sea foods to be cooked in the live kitchen counters.
  • After the interaction of the guests with the fishermen, the cruiser enters Sunderbans to navigate through the narrower creek of Hatania – Doania. The guests will have the first glimpse of the dense mangrove and the vast river system with several creeks flowing into the main rivers. 
  • The first excursion will be to Lothian Island, a forest trail or visit to the Crocodile project at Bhagabatpur. Thereafter, the vessel will turn towards the towards North-East.
  • The vessel will again drop anchor at the confluence of the River Malta and River Bidya. From here the guests will be transferred to a small creek boat for a ride through the creeks and shore visits to some of exotic Sunderban islands – Nethidopani / Dobanki,Sajnekhali, along with a Wildlifer, who will guide the guests to experience the forest, sight animals and birds, explain various mangrove species and tell interesting stories of the islands.
  • Later in the evening before the sun sets, the vessel will anchor. 
  • After sun sets, the guests will enjoy a rich mythological folk drama by the local artists.
  • Later in the evening, the guests will enjoy a traditional Bengali meal. 
  • The guests can also enjoy a romantic night with star gazing from the sky deck, soak in the serenity and tranquility of nature. 
• Day 3 -
  • This morning there will two exciting shore visits – First a visit toBali, a beautiful Sunderban Village. Guests will experience farming, paddy husking, honey packing, fishing and various occupations of the region. And..
  • Second to Sudhonyakhali, an island most visited by the Royal Bengal Tigers.
  • As we traverse back we will visit some of the other exotic locales not visited on the previous day like Lothian Island, orCrocodile project at Bhagabatpur before starting the return journey to Kolkata.
• Day 4 - Sailing through the various Ghats of the River Ganges, the cruiser will pass the magnificent confluences of the rivers Rupnarayan and Damodar and cross the ancient port of Diamond Harbour and the distant Industrial town Haldia, on the opposite bank. The cruiser would reach Kolkata by 11:00 AM.
• Day 5 -
  • The vessel sails down the Howrah Bridge, the unique Cantilever Bridge across the river Ganga joining the two metropolises of Kolkata and Howrah. Sailing past the Howrah Railway Station, one of the busiest in the world, and various heritage sites on the banks of the great river, including the numerous temples and bathing ghats, the historical point of Job Charnock, house of Dolls, Nimtolla Ghat and oldest Gun & Shell Factory in India at Cassipur the tourists arrive at Belur. 
  • Here the visitors disembark to visit Belur Math, a ‘shrine built’ by Swami Vivekananda, in honour of his great master Ramakrishna Paramhamsa Deb, The visit will give an insight Sri Ramakrishna’s equality of religious.
  • By dusk the visitors embark the vessel to sail up the river to Chandannagar, a colony of the French till 1950. At the Chandannagar Strand, the ancient French colony comes alive with bands recreating French flover. After a tour of the French Architecture of historical importance in the Strand like the Church, the Clock Tower and the old hotels, now housing the Civil Court and various educations the visitors embark the vessel to be treated to a French Dinner, befitting the ambience and the aroma of the French settlement of yore. The vessel sails as the visitors dine and later anchors at Triveni for the night.
• Day 6 -
  • As the vessel sails, rural Bengal unfolds itself in all its beauty, bounty and glory. The Forenoon is spent on board and activities include a talk about the magnificent Ganga heritage by a well-known Historian.
  • The vessel reaches Mayapur, the headquarters of ISKON. The visitors disembark at the divine abode of Lord Krishna. The rich vegetarian lunch at the divine temple at Mayapur tantalizes the taste buds with its purity and simplicity. The Hare Krishna cult of the Gaudiya Vaishnav philosophy believes that Mayapur is the place of Sri Chaitanya and it is the spiritual capital of the world. 
  • Nabadwip, the ancient capital of Lakhsman Sen, the famous ruler of the Sen dynasty, situated in the western bank due to the changing course of Ganga, was a great center of learning and intellectual prowess, referred to as the Oxford of Bengal and the place where Chaitanya Deb was born in 1486. This was captured by Bakhtiyar Khilji, to pave the way for Muslim Rule in Bengal.
  • The visitors enjoy a stroll through these twin towns of Chaitanya faith and return to the vessel for a quiet evening to let the divine feeling sink in. At night the vessel cruises to anchor at Lal Bagh in front of HazarDuari, the Palace with thousand doors.
• Day 7 -
  • Murshidabad is one of the oldest cities of West Bengal and has a rich heritage. It was the capital city of Sasanka, the great king of Gaur. The Nawab Murshid Ali Khan made Murshidabad the capital city of Sube Bangal, comprising of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It was last capital of independent Nawabs of Bengal and the first capital of Bengal under the British.
  • The visitors start the day with a pleasant walk through Khushagh, an idyllic Mughal style Garden enclosing the tombs of Siraj-ud-Dauiiah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal and his family. The visitors return to the vessel for breakfast. As the recharged visitors come back on land they visit places of historic interest like the Nizamat Kila (the Fortress of the Nawabs), also known as the Hazaarduari Palace (Palace of a Thousand Doors), built by Duncan Mc Leod of the Bengal Engineers in 1837, in the Italianate style, the Moti Jhil (Pearl Lake) just to the south of the place, the Muradbagh Palace and the Khushbagh Cemetery, where the remains of Ali Vardi Khan and Siraj Ud Daulah are interred. After visiting the Hazar Duari Museum collections of pictures, china, weapons and other objects the visitors see the great Katara Mosque and the 18th Century marvels of the Nashipura Palace and the palace of Jagat Sett, both built in classical Georgian style by rich local merchants and represents the other side of the coin of the "White Mughal" period when English and Indian cultures came close to fusion.
  • In the afternoon, after a sumptuous lunch the visitors have a delightfully expensive shopping experience of Murshidabad silk.
  • Since the vessel will be in port throughout the day the visitors can also plan to explore the city of silk on their own.
  • After a day well spent, the cruiser bids good bye and passes through the historic battleground of Palassey, where Robert Clive’s men defeated Siraj-ud-Daullah’s soldiers ushering in British Rule in India. Entertainment at nightfall is the highlight of the evening as the cruiser winds its way back and the visitors carry with them pleasant memories of  - historical past and enjoy the delightful cuisine.
• Day 8 -
  • Visitors enjoy an early morning trip to the ancient terracotta temples at Kalna. One may choose to take a cycle rickshaw ride or have a lovely morning walk breathing in fresh air. The old Shiva temple with concentric rings made up of 108 srinelets enthralls the visitor with return to the vessel and head back to Kolkata. The visitors cast a last, long, lingering look behind to have a clear look at the Dutch Cemetery at Cainsura and the Portugese Church at Bandel.
  • The cruise ends at about 3Pm at the Millennium Park, Kolkata.
  • All tours are guided tours with the historian, life guards, wildlife experts, full service for drinks and munching snacks while on excursions.