Day out on a cruise

Bangladesh, a riverine country, is crisscrossed by rivers. Viewing nature and the countryside from the rivers opens up a new vista before the eyes of the beholder, be they local or foreign. But there were hardly any companies offering cruises in Dhaka.
"Almost every capital city in the world has companies offering river cruises to tourists. Close home one can instantly cite the examples of Singapore and Bangkok. But the capital city of Bangladesh lacked such cruises worth the name till recently," said Zahedur Rah-man, Assistant Manager-Food and Beverage, Hotel Sarina.
Sarina Group, sensing a vacuum in this sector, decided to launch Sarina Cruise, a state-of-the-art ship that can sail anywhere. The Chairman of the Group is a Marine Engineer as is the Chief Engineer. The Chairman had the ship built by Western Marine Shipyard Limited of Chittagong, he said.
"We received the centrally air-conditioned ship in 2005 and it was formally inaugurated on Pahela Baishakh of 2006," he added.
Stationed in Ashulia BIWTA Terminal, the luxurious ship offers seven hours' cruise- sailing for about three and a half hours before turning back.
The ship can be stationed at the Pagla Ghat or the old jetty at Meghna Ghat according to the client's desire, but the client booking the ship has to take the requisite permission from the relevant authorities and pay for the extra fuel, he said.
"The ship can accommodate 80 persons in theatre style on the Main Deck, which can be extended to 90. The restaurant has a capacity for 60 persons which can be extended up to 70."
For holding a programme on the Main Deck, one has to book 15 days ahead at least for 80 persons, paying Tk 2,500 each for any number of guests less than or equal to it. For over 80 guests, one has to pay for the actual number," said Zahedur Rahman, adding "we offer complimentary live band in case of daylong cruise."
“Most of the corporate houses, UN bodies and international agencies have used "Sarina Cruise" to hold high-level meetings, workshops or just for entertaining their staff members."
"We design the menu as per client base and serve it from the fully-equipped kitchen. We offer morning tea and snacks after the ship starts sailing, sumptuous buffet lunch at noon and tea and snacks in the afternoon."
"The VIP Lounge in the Under Deck can accommodate about 25 persons and can be used for exclusive meetings. There is also the Sky Deck, but we do not encourage people going up there for safety reasons," he said.
Regarding safety and hygiene on the ship, he said, "The GL (Germanischer Lloyd) class vessel was designed and built under complete construction su-pervision of Mercantile Marine Depart-ment of Bang-ladesh and complies with IMO/MSO Rules."
"The ship is equipped with radar and global positioning system (GPS). It is very safe. There are 20 lifebuoys and 300 life jackets. The eight washrooms are cleaned every hour."
Asked about night cruises, he said, "The ship is a floating restaurant during dinner. We still do not encourage night cruises as it is difficult to navigate the narrow and shallow Turag channel at night."
On a query whether the group had any plans for Chittagong, he admitted not being so aggressive in marketing and said, the Group has plans to offer cruises to St. Martins offering lunch on board.
Pressed for details, he said, "At present you have to use vessels that leave much to be desired, and once on the island, during noon you also have to look around where to have lunch."
The Group has plans for cruise to the Sundarbans, but at present it is concentrating on a smaller vessel to ply on the Turag.
Zahedur Ranman suggested dredging not only at Ashulia but all along the 'circular waterway' around the city as well as improving the road access to Shinnir Tek. "The draught is better there," he said.