About: The Lakshadweep Cruise Liner!!

She is the latest addition to the Lakshadweep Government’s fleet and calls herself the “Arabian Sea”.


She, in her shining white armour, accommodates 210 bunker beds, 20 4 person cabin rooms and about 20 luxury cabin rooms all air-conditioned for the tourists. In addition, she hosts umpteen saloons and cabins for the crew.


She has six decks in all. Deck 1 is the engine room and only the ship crew are allowed to enter it. Deck 2 is where the bunker beds are. Deck 3 is where the mess, restaurant, doctor and saloons are. Deck 4 is where the luxury cabins and the caption’s cabins are present. Deck 4 is also the main deck of the ship with huge open spaces. Deck 5 hosts the ship’s control room. Tourists are allowed to the ship’s control room for short durations. Deck 6 is where the controls (radar, transmitter, etc.) are along with extra fuel storage. Deck 6 is also out of bounds for the tourist.


My accommodation was in Deck 2 in the air-conditioned bunker room that had 210 beds in all. At each end of the bunker room, 2 toilets (Indian-style) and one shower were provided. One for MEN and the other for the LADIES.


My friend and I got lost umpteen number of times while exploring the ship. There were so many doors and staircases that we did not know which led to where. There were signboards, but they only helped partially.


We tried to sneak into the engine room to get a glimpse, but unfortunately the crew saw us and asked us to leave. The main deck is a great place to enjoy the vast ocean expanse. Watching the waves, the spray against the ship, the flying fish are all great ways of entertaining oneself.


The main deck also contains the cargo hold and 2 sets of anchors right at the front. Deck 5 has the engine control room that is state of the art with the latest devices and controls – GPS, Radar, Radio, Low frequency transmitter, etc. While I was inside the room, the ship was running on auto pilot mode and was clocking about 20 knots.

The thing that stands out the most is the sheer amount of iron that makes this ship... An iron beauty!