The ships costing about 25 lacs each, will be stationed at about a kilometre away from the Gateway of India and will cruise to be further into the Arabian Sea to be flanked by scenic views of setting sun and the old-world charm of South Mumbai’s gothic architecture.

FLOATELS OR floating restaurants have been gaining popularity for quite some time now along the Mumbai shores, with a couple of ships anchored at the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL). In a bid to offer more experiential memories to the diners to take away with them from their three-hour long cruise at the Arabian Sea, Shripriya Dalmia Thirani and Mrudul Thirani, the couple-duo, decided to drive two ships viz. Queensline See Yah and Queensline Neverland to India from Turkey. The ships costing about 25 lacs each, will be stationed at about a kilometre away from the Gateway of India and will cruise to be further into the Arabian Sea to be flanked by scenic views of setting sun and the old-world charm of South Mumbai’s gothic architecture.

Thirani says that their prime aim was to bring in value addition to their floatels which their competitors were not equipped with, for which, they ideated to serve international cuisines on the ships which will be dominated by European and South East Asian cuisines. Chef Vibhuti Bane, Director at Bakus Hospitality LLP, who also manages the F&B for both the Queensline floatels said that they have procured select spices native to their homegrown nations as well as exotic fish such as scallops, Australian Salmon, etc. have been brought in fresh and frozen to make the native delicacies with a common aim to make the visit of the patrons on the ship memorable. Furthermore, Chef Bane added that over the period of time, other entertainment bells and whistles will be thrown in, including an international chef who will showcase his/her explicit skills and will serve their signature delicacies that will be prepared in the live kitchen, to allow the guests’ eyes and cameras to feast on, before savouring the meal by their tastebuds. To this, Thirani added that they are also considering collaborating with live bands and art auctions & installations on both the ships.

Each of the two ships boasts of two bars, banquet halls, and open-to-air deck area.

One can book their cruise through their website www.queensline.in at a cover charge of INR 2,500 per person. Considering capacity, each ship has the capacity of hosting a total of 380 guests and 70-80 staff members, taking the total toll of each ship’s capacity to 470 people at a time. Considering the safety, either of the ships is equipped with 500 life jackets that include specially devised jackets for children and heavyweight individuals as well.

The Ships were inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India on Saturday.

The ships don of license to be operated in the wee hours of the day as well, but Thirani said that they are initially keeping them operational from noon to midnight. Expecting breakeven after about three years from their launch, a positive Thirani said they are not restricting their business to cater only to the Mumbai audience, but are applying dynamic marketing and promotional activities to invite and host prospective patrons from across India.