A return trip on a planned Dubai-Karachi ferry route will cost $549 (Dh2000), said a report.
The luxury ferry service, which takes two days to cross the Gulf, will start on November 2, Pakistan’s Ports and Shipping director-general Captain (retd) Anwar Shah was quoted as saying.
According to Gulf News, he said the Pakistan government was encouraging private operators to run the ferry service.
“We have already awarded licences to five operators and Gulf Dream Cruise will be the first to operate its cruise in November,” he said in the report.
Shah said the service would be extended to other Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Oman and Qatar in the coming years. Passengers will be able to take a one-way trip.
Gulf Dream Cruise weighs 23,000 tonnes with a length of 196 metres. It has 540 rooms and can accommodate up to 1,250 passengers and will have a crew of 400.
The cruise will have all the facilities available in an international cruise liner. It will have theatre, games, entertainment facilities, restaurants and even bars.
Tour operators in Dubai have also welcomed the new service.
Also on the cards is a ferry service between Mumbai and Karachi, that will provide a convenient link for passengers from Mumbai to Dubai via Karachi, said Shah.