The ship of lights, Costa Luminosa, docks at Mumbai Port
Costa Cruises, the first and only international cruise company to offer regular cruises directly from Mumbai to Cochin, Cochin to Maldives, Maldives to Mumbai, confirmed its strong interest in developing the Indian cruise market, by just completing their third successful India season.
Today, Costa Luminosa, known as the ship of lights with 120 Murano glass chandeliers, accommodating approximately 3,000 guests and 1,130 cabins with approximately 70 per cent balcony cabins, docked in Mumbai port on a 109 nights world cruise itinerary. After completing its world cruise itinerary, Costa Luminosa will be deployed in Venice on an East Mediterranean itinerary covering the Greek Isles from April until almost November. Costa Cruises has the largest deployment of cruises in Europe, offering itineraries all across the year.
While Costa Luminosa has done a one-off stopover at the Mumbai Port today, Costa neoRiviera was homeported in Mumbai from December 2018 to March 2019. Costa neoRiviera hosted more than 10,000 Indian guests for a 4 nights Mumbai to Cochin and 7 nights Maldives to Mumbai itinerary, showcasing the strong demand for cruises within India. The India season for Costa witnessed a diverse range of Indian travellers, from weddings onboard, corporate incentive groups, individual travellers and large families. On 8th November 2019, Costa Victoria which will make its inaugural call in Mumbai for sailings of 4 nights from Mumbai to Cochin and 7 nights Maldives to Mumbai at a starting price of only Rs 33,000 p.p. and Rs 46,000 p.p. respectively. To encourage families to travel together, Costa is the only cruise liner to offer a Kids below 18 years cruise free policy on a sharing cabin, whereby kids have to pay only port taxes and minimal gratuities.
In order to satisfy the increased demand for cruise holidays from Mumbai, winter 2019, Costa neoRiviera is being replaced by a larger vessel Costa Victoria. Costa Victoria is a ship of extraordinary beauty, ready to amaze her guests with a whole new look and makeover with meticulous attention to detail. This elegant cruise ship has 14 decks (12 for guest use), 3 swimming Pools, 4 jacuzzis, 10 bars, 5 restaurants, fully-equipped casino, theatre, disco and a ballroom. Costa Victoria, aims to provide plenty in entertainment with a wide offer of magic shows, operas and dancers that will captivate even the most well-travelled folks with spectacular performances.
Shri Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, says “Costa Cruises has been one of our premium clients regularly docking at Mumbai Port, proactively helping to build the Indian cruise market. The Mumbai Port is in the process of setting up a state-of-the-art cruise terminal, scheduled to be inaugurated in November/December 2019. We look forward to welcoming even bigger and more Costa ships in the near future.”
Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations, Representative of Costa Cruises in India, said “Costa Cruises has seen immense growth in passenger numbers and is confident that India will be a big source cruise market for Costa Cruises.”