August 21, 2017 TnH Global

Costa Cruises launches shorter sailing options in Indian waters

Costa Cruises — Europe’s leading cruising company — has announced its shorter, three and four-night sailings in Indian waters from November.

Last year, Costa Cruises was the first ever cruise liner to offer cruises directly from Mumbai to Maldives. This year, they are introducing shorter, 3- and 4-night sailing options, specifically for the Indian market. Indians can now choose to cruise on a four-night itinerary from Mumbai to Kochi (via Mangaluru) or a three-night itinerary from Kochi to Maldives. This is in addition to the seven-night Mumbai to Maldives cruise and the seven-night Maldives to Mumbai option.

The Italian cruise liner will be home-porting in Mumbai a month earlier than last year and will undertake a series of weekly sailings from November to March 2018. According to Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations (representative of Costa Cruises in India), the liner is expanding its sailing offerings to include shorter sailings of three & four nights from Mumbai and Kochi, specifically for the Indian market. The cruising market in the country has come a long way from a select group cruising in faraway locations, to a much wider audience holidaying on ships cruising directly from India.

Since Costa announced the launch of cruising from Mumbai last year, they have seen interest and bookings from a variety of travel groups, including families, senior citizens, honeymooners and experiential holiday agencies. There has also been a lot of interest from corporates, who are looking set to book the first few sailings out of Mumbai.

Costa Cruises has deployed its ship, Costa neoClassica, on the India itinerary. The ship has a total of 654 cabins, including sea view cabins and suites with private balconies, Gupta said.

News Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com