A new catamaran service from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria that aims to make the voyage a luxurious, gourmet one is launching May 1.

V2V Vacations, which is owned by an Australian marine company called Riverside Marine Group. is operating the high-speed V2V Empress, a 38-metre, 300-passenger vessel.

Outfitted with plush leather seats, the ship will offer three levels of seating and experiences for the 3.5-hour trip: premium comfort ($120 per person one way); first class ($199); and royal class ($240). (Kids' rates are available.)

In premium comfort, food and beverages will be available from an à la carte menu. People in first and royal class, meanwhile, who get to sit on the vessel’s exclusive upper deck, will get a three-course meal served on fine plate wear.

Food will be prepared by Truffles Catering, a Victoria-based company that has been in business for 25 years. Using Ocean Wise Seafood and natural, ethical products, it was one of the founders of the Island Chef’s Collaborative, a group focused on using and promoting local producers. Some of its suppliers include Hertel Meats (which provides some of its preservative- and additive-free sandwich meats) and Bright Greens (which grows 7,500 pesticide-free plants in a single shipping container, the equivalent space of one and a half acres of land).

To go with lunch, passengers will be able to order wines by the glass from wineries such as Red Rooster, Mission Hill, and Sandhill.

The ship will depart daily from Vancouver at 8 a.m. and arrive in Victoria at 11:30 a.m.; the return voyage leaves at 2 p.m., arriving in Vancouver at 5:50 p.m.

In Vancouver, the terminal is located at the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre at the Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Place); in Victoria, the ship will dock at the Steamship Terminal building in the inner harbour (470 Belleville Street).