For harried executives, a marine cruise can offer an escape form a life of tight schedules and constant pressure. The need for a relaxing but luxurious environment was well known to the designers of M/V Royale Floatel. The Vijai Marine Shipyards, designed and carried out the conversion, from a dumb pontoon, of the Royale Floatel to a 14-room all-suite, high-end luxury floating hotel. Delivered to the owners in 2013, it is first in its segment in the country under IRS class.

With a capacity for 60 passengers, the 60.2- x 13-meter vessel is fitted with a spa featuring Jacuzzi hot-tubs and claims a Five Star Hotel rating with the largest room size in India. The parent company, Delta Corp. Ltd., operates a large floating casino on the Mandovi River in Goa and the Royale Flotel will cruise the same river at a relaxing eight knots. On their web site (deltacorp.in) they explain that, “The first of its kind in Goa, Royale Floatel will be an exclusive, all-suite, luxury hotel anchored in the Mandovi River in Goa, with exclusive services for our VIP guests.”

A pair of Cummins NTA855M diesels, each delivering 325 HP at 1,800 RPM through ZF gears to turn 1.1-meter propellers, provides propulsion power for the floating hotel. Three more Cummins NTA855DM engines will power 330-kva gensets to meet the vessel’s extensive electrical requirements.