Soon after the Bahamas flagged cruise ship MV Empress docks in Visakhapatnam on the morning of July 16, KN Rao, a retired sales manager, and his wife K Mangama step ashore—the thrill of a luxury sail on the sea evident on their beaming faces.

A week earlier, the couple had boarded a train from their hometown Berhampur in Odisha, followed by a flight to Chennai, where they celebrated their daughter Vandana’s birthday. From there, they did not take a train or a flight back home. They instead booked a two-night cruise. They picked a cabin, which did not have sweeping ocean views, but was rather easy on the pocket.

“Some rooms were priced at Rs 1 lakh and above. We booked a standard room for Rs 41,600, which covered our stay along with basic food and drinks. We will always cherish this moment,” says Rao, as he poses for a photo with the ship in the background. Mangama laughs along, both savouring a memory they have just created.
Like Rao and Mangama, Indians are increasingly going for short voyages aboard cruise ships, for a taste of luxury on sea.

A wave of excitement fills the air later that day, as passengers prepare to board MV Empress for the next leg—Visakhapatnam to Puducherry and onwards to Chennai. Among them are Sahil Singla and Nikita Verma, a young fintech couple from Bengaluru, ready to unwind at sea. There is also a lively group of 12 first-time cruisers from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, who have booked their return tickets by train.

On Deck 5 of the 11-storey ship, run by Cordelia Cruises, a crew member hands out a leaflet outlining the day’s activities, dos and don’ts and services that come at an extra cost, like salon and casino. Tucked in the fine print is a firm reminder of onboard decorum: spitting paan comes with a penalty of $1,000.Cruise tourism in India is charting a new course. An increasing number of luxury liners are calling on our ports even as the middle class is discovering the pleasures of sailing. India’s cruise tourism has now set an ambitious target of 1 million passengers docking at its ports annually by 2029.

WELCOME ABOARD

“Cruise tourism is gaining strong traction among India’s upper middleclass segment. Growing disposable income of a burgeoning middle and upper middle class enables them to embrace cruise as a preferred leisure choice,” Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal tells ET. He adds that aspiration for premium travel experiences and increased awareness about cruise holidays are fuelling the demand.

The number of sea cruise passengers in India saw a five-fold increase over the past decade — from 1,04,125 in 2014-15 to 4,92,000 in 2024-25. This figure does not include river cruise passengers, for which data is not readily available. However, Sonowal points out that the fleet of luxury river-cruise vessels grew from 3 in FY2014 to 25 in FY2025, reflecting a boom in inland cruise tourism as well.

FARE WELL

M Angamuthu, chairman of the Visakhapatnam Port Authority, says the rise of domestic cruise lines and the inclusion of Indian ports by international operators have contributed to making cruises more accessible and appealing to Indian travellers. But he also strikes a note of caution: “Pricing is, and will remain, a critical factor in the Indian cruise market.”

He elaborates: “While there’s a segment that is willing to pay for luxury, the broad market, especially the expanding middle class, is price sensitive. Competitive pricing for itineraries, onboard amenities and shore excursions will be key to attracting and retaining passengers.

This means cruise lines need to optimise their operational costs and port authorities need to offer rationalised and transparent tariffs.” Unlike airlines, cruise companies rarely publicise their fares. But several cruisers say the per-night cost of a cabin typically ranges from Rs 10,000 to several lakhs, depending on the level of luxury.

Much like first-class passengers in aviation, suite guests on a cruise enjoy far more than a spacious bedroom. They have access to private dining areas, sundeck balconies and priority embarkation and disembarkation at every port. Sometimes, the experience is topped with an exclusive cocktail evening with the captain.

Mumbai remains the country’s cruise tourism hub, handling 102 vessels and 2,68,830 passengers in 2024. However, Cochin Port saw 28 international cruise ship calls last year compared with Mumbai’s 20.

Among the global cruise giants that regularly include Indian ports in their itineraries are Holland America Line, Crystal Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea Cruises and Azamara. A 16-night voyage by Azamara Cruises later this year—from Port Louis, Mauritius, to Singapore—has a two-night stopover in Cochin.

CARGO TO CRUISE

Former shipping secretary Gopal Krishna says that until a few years ago, India had not prioritised the development of dedicated cruise terminals to attract cruise vessels. “For a long time, Indian ports primarily functioned as cargo hubs, not as gateways for cruise passengers,” he says. “But with new cruise terminals being built and existing ones being upgraded, we are now better equipped to serve cruise tourism.”

He says the game-changer for India’s cruise industry will be the ability to attract more foreign vessels to use Indian ports as home port, which means the port where a ship operates from, though not necessarily where it is registered.

Homeporting of large cruise ships is not merely a logistical operation, it can be a catalyst for economic growth and job creation. In 2016, Costa NeoClassica, a foreign vessel featuring a casino, theatre, disco, ballroom and a 1,300 sq m wellness centre, chose Mumbai as its home port for three months and completed seven voyages. Its ripple effects were highlighted by the government in a 2017 paper, which states a cruise vessel with a capacity of 3,000 passengers can generate employment for nearly 1,000 people when it uses an Indian port as its home base.

The ripple effect extends to local businesses. With each passenger spending at least $70-100 a day on land excursions, a cruise ship fuels substantial daily transactions, injecting fresh energy into tourism, retail and service sectors.

“We believe India could have multiple home ports for foreign cruise vessels by 2029,” says Rajiv Jalota, former chairman, Mumbai Port Authority. “The government’s vision is to enable homeporting of at least one cruise ship each in Goa, Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam, apart from one or two in Mumbai.”

Jalota says discussions are at an early stage on launching open-jaw cruises from Port Blair to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. In open-jaw cruises, departure and arrival ports are different. “If the Port Blair blueprint materialises, passengers can fly to the Andaman Islands and board a cruise ship for the onward voyage,” he says.

Global cruise giants are eager to expand into Indian waters but, Jalota says, some operators are lobbying hard for additional tax benefits.

According to Krishan Arora, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat, the government has already streamlined the tax issues. He says a simplified tax regime, effective from April 2025, allows foreign cruise operators to bypass cumbersome audits and filings by opting for a fixed percentage of their receipts to be treated as taxable income. He also highlights another recent reform— the removal of import duties on foreign cruise ships temporarily operating along India’s coastline. “This opens up the Indian market for seasonal and short-term cruise deployments, a model followed globally but previously impractical in India due to tax barriers,” he adds.

While ship-wise passenger data isn’t publicly available, at least two senior government officials point out that MV Empress is singlehandedly driving much of the recent surge in numbers, a matter of concern considering that this French-built ship is 35 years old. They also say the vessel’s Delhi-based parent company, Waterways Leisure Tourism, is planning to acquire another cruise ship in the next couple of months. Jurgen Bailom, CEO of Cordelia Cruises, has declined to comment.

One thing is clear: the success of cruise liners will depend not just on competitive pricing, but on how they tailor experiences to suit Indian travellers. Take Nayan Goel, 35, an FMCG wholesaler from Lucknow, who flew to Chennai with his wife Sweety and son Parth, to board the MV Empress, paying Rs 1,78,000 for a five-night cruise in an ocean-view cabin. Among all the highlights of the voyage, one detail stands out for him. “The restaurant on Deck 5, Starlight, serves vegetarian Jain food,” he says with a smile.