Luxury cruise vessels Costa Luminosa, Venezia dock at Kochi

Italy-based Costa Cruises is all set to tap growing South Indian market, mainly Kochi. The ship is now docked at Kerala’s Cochin port and has luxurious facilities to fulfill all the requirements of the tourists.

“Cruise line is coming to Indian ports and especially to Cochin which has the port infrastructure which allows the big ships to come in. I think Keralites are actually, natural cruisers. They are living all over the world so even in Maldives we had a very good response. Costa brings ships to Indian ports, it shows their commitment and from my side, I always tell the headquarters that they look at India and do what they can do because people will travel so you don’t have to worry about people travelling or no. So, bringing ships is our first step to towards increasing tourism and increasing cruising,” said Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations, Representative of Costa Cruises in India.

Two luxury cruise liners of the company – Costa Luminosa and Costa Venezia simultaneously docked in Cochin Port on April 5, 2019. Costa Luminosa  carries 2,000 tourists, Costa Venezia has 2,670 tourists on board. The ship will be embarking 100 Indian passengers on an eight nights itinerary from Kochi to Singapore via Colombo, Langkawi and Port Klang.

Costa Luminosa features 1,130 cabins in total, including:52 with direct access to the spa, 662 with private balcony, 106 suites, all with private balcony, and 4 suites with direct access to the spa. IT also houses 4 restaurants, including the Club Restaurant and the Samsara Restaurant at an additional charge and by reservation only. The ship features 11 bars, including a Cigar Lounge and a Coffee & Chocolate Bar and Samsara Spa: 3,500 m2 on two levels, with gym, baths, thalasso therapy pool, treatment rooms, sauna, Turkish bath, UVA-ray solarium, Cabins and Suites. It also has 4 Jacuzzis, 3 pools, including one with a retractable cover and a multipurpose sports pitch and outdoor jogging tracks.

Taking into consideration the growing demand from Indian guests, Costa neoRiviera will be replaced by a larger vessel Costa Victoria next November. The latter will have a guest capacity of 2,300 as against 1,500 of neoRiviera. “Costa Victoria, which has 14 decks, three swimming pools, ten bars, five restaurants, a sprawling Casino, a theatre, a disco and a Ballroom, will make its inaugural call in Kochi on November 13,” Gupta said.

The starting price for the 3 Nights Kochi to Maldives will be Rs 26, 800 per person (all inclusive for Inside Cabin excluding 5 per cent GST).