KUALA LUMPUR: Travel agency Qaliff Travel Sdn Bhd is offering a five-star ‘Muslim-friendly’ holiday experience with a cruise on the luxury ship ‘Genting Dream’.
Managing director of Qaliff Travel Sdn Bhd Megat Muhammad Farhan Al Haj said the Muslim-friendly packages are guaranteed to provide comfort to Muslims to enjoy a holiday on board the ship sailing through the Melaka Strait.
”Previously, the perception of many Muslims was that a vacation on a ship was not suitable for them, so this packages we offer aim to change that mindset while also giving them the opportunity to enjoy this unique experience of a vacation at sea.
“Not all luxury cruise ships offer halal restaurants… (but) in this Muslim-friendly packages, we provide a halal food restaurant on board, ‘The Lido’, which is recognised by UWHD (United World Halal Development), Singapore, so you don’t have to worry about food and drinks all through this cruise vacation.
“In fact, we provide a surau and there is no need to worry about the direction of the ‘kiblat’ because we will assist. For the swimming pool and gymnasium facilities, they can wear syariah-compliant attire,” he told Bernama on board the Genting Dream.
Megat Muhammad Farhan said the Muslim-friendly packages offered by his agency in collaboration with ship operators were currently successful in attracting the take-up of more Muslim tourists to enjoy a cruise vacation.
“Alhamdulillah, the demand for this Muslim-friendly packages is very encouraging, I can say that currently almost 70 per cent of the bookings for our holiday cruise are Muslims.
“And we will also improve these packages, we plan to hold more religious activities, spiritually fulfilling (experiences) throughout the cruise such as religious talks, morning lectures, tasmik al-Quran and hadith talks, by bringing along religious personalities and figures on trips to come,” he said.
Meanwhile, Qaliff Travel Sdn Bhd business manager Nurul Nabihah Ahmad Jamhor said that Qaliff Travel currently offers two Muslim-friendly packages, namely a four-day, three-night cruise and a three-day, two-night cruise.
“For the four-day package, the route is Port Klang-Penang-Singapore-Port Klang while the three-day cruise involves Port Klang-Singapore-Port Klang.
“In Singapore, the ship will dock at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre for a few hours where tourists can disembark for sight-seeing on the island before re-boarding the ship which leaves for Klang.
“We also offer special routes at certain times with limited trips to Phuket…for these trips, our cheapest price is below RM700 per person (room without window) and the steepest (price) reaches RM10,000 per person with top accommodation and exclusive facilities in the penthouse (cabin),” she said.
Nurul Nabihah said the Muslim-friendly packages offered by Qaliff Travel could be purchased either individually or in groups.b– BERNAMA
