Costa Cruises to operate 23 new cruises with Serena ship

Italian firm Costa Cruises on Friday said it will operate 23 new cruises with itineraries of 2-5 days to domestic ports with its 3,780-passenger capacity ship Costa Serena.

The 23 new sailings, which are set to commence in India from November 4 this year and January 1 of 2024, will call on the ports of Mumbai, Cochin, Goa, and for the first time Lakshadweep, Costa Cruises said at an event here.

As part of this, Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai will have five sailings, as many as six sailing on Mumbai-highs sea-Mumbai and four sailings on Mumbai-Lakshadweep via Cochin and Goa, among others, according to the company.

Sailings are designed in collaboration with Costa's general sales agent in India -- Lotus Aero Enterprises, it said.

The Italian cruise firm is looking to make India a hub for its Asia Pacific operations amid the rising demand for cruise travel in India, Roberto Alberti, Senior Vice President, and Chief Commercial Officer at Costa Cruises, told PTI on the sidelines of the event.

Besides top executives from Costa Cruises, the event was also attended by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and officials from Mumbai Port, among others.

The company said that the Italian-flagged ship Serena, which entered services in 2007, will further extend its deployment in Asia after itineraries from Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan.

The ship has a total of 1,500 cabins, 505 of which have private balconies, and 14 passenger decks, the company said, adding that to make the most of their cruise on board, the ship will offer a host of facilities and amenities.

''We have already sailed our ships in India in the past, and many of our onboard colleagues are from India. We are strongly committed to offering our Indian guests a unique holiday experience onboard Costa Serena, and we are looking forward to starting our operations in November. Costa Serena will be the largest cruise ship to operate domestic itineraries in India,'' Alberti said.

Costa is an international brand and with these new sailings with Costa Serena, the company will serve international experience and warm Italian hospitality to the domestic customers, he said.

''I see a lot of commonalities and a shared vision of the potential of India as a cruise market. Costa being a global market has developed many markets in the world and we want to contribute to this market as well,'' Alberti said.

However, he said that India, in general, is still a small market compared to other global markets but its foray into the domestic market will make it more relevant, going forward for the company, he added.

Noting that the demand is in proportion to the kind of product one has, Nalini Gupta, Managing Director Lotus Aero Enterprises, GSA Costa Cruise India, said that when it comes to demand for cruise travel in India there is a broad base of middle-class here, which is now coming from Tier-II/III cities.

The mass market has become so big that you are ultimately making people on the cruising map of the world, she said.

''So, these are Tier-II cities we are addressing to a large extent,'' Gupta added.

According to industry estimates, India accounts for less than half a per cent of the total cruise travel at approximately 4 lakh passengers in the 31-million cruise passenger travel market.

''Such cruises can play a positive role in promoting Indian culture and identity,'' Sonowal said.

He urged the company to devise itineraries that work for the entire year.

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