Though India is still catching up with the pre-pandemic outbound cruise travellers figure of about 2,50,000 passengers annually, the market has matured in terms of demand, awareness and knowledge.

After decades of remaining on the sidelines of Indian tourism industry, notably outbound tourism, cruise is slowly emerging as a significant niche segment that is attracting greater interest from all the industry stakeholders.

Starting from being a market for short cruise itineraries rarely exceeding three nights, India is now maturing towards cruises that last 5-7 nights or even 9-12 nights. Passengers have also started to opt for more luxurious and comfortable cabins, notably suite cabins and for cruises in long-haul destinations like the Mediterranean, Bahamas, Caribbean and Alaska, moving from short haul favourites like Singapore. Also, Indian cruisers are now looking at gigantic floating resorts, up from the midsized ships that used to be their homes away from home.

Most Indians are still strangers to cruises and are intimidated by the sheer size of cruise ships. According to Indian cruise experts, Indians are even awed by the size of The Empress, the 1800-passenger ship operated by the Indian cruise operator Indian cruise industry comes of age. Though India is still catching up with the pre-pandemic outbound cruise travellers figure of about 2,50,000 passengers annually, the market has matured in terms of demand, awareness and knowledge. Cordelia Cruises, which is relatively small when positioned next to Wonder of the Seas by Royal Caribbean International that can carry 6900 passengers.

However, size is not always the key to opt for cruises. A cruise tour operator will always look for what a customer is looking for. So while some customers may be looking for Resorts World Cruises’ Genting Dream in Singapore that can house 3,352 passengers and comes with a wide range of activities and amenities onboard, making it perfect for families, groups and events, but some other customers may be happier with Paradise Cruises in Vietnam, which with 31 cabins is perfect for an intimate experience for unique views along the Halong Bay region.

The Indian customers are also getting used to the advantages of each kind of ships and are aware that while the bigger ships come with all the creature comforts, smaller ships can ferry them to unique destinations, ports and places.

Destinations and more destinations!

Amongst the most important parametres that go into making cruise holidays attractive are the cost of flying to the destination to board the ship as well as the ease of obtaining a visa and its duration. While Singapore has always been the top outbound cruise destination for Indians, other destinations have also begun to emerge.

In a relatively recent development, some cruise operators like MSC and Costa Cruises have begun operating in the Middle East under their winter itineraries, till mid-March, offering great deals and packages for Indians to explore UAE, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Indian tourists are also opting for Mediterranean cruises with NCL, MSC and Costa leading the market share and offering itineraries of 5-9 nights. The Mediterranean has emerged as a specially attractive options for the Indian MICE segment as the cruise package cost over land packages is quite competitive.

Beyond Asia and Europe, Indian travellers are also opting for cruises in the Caribbean from Florida to Nassau and back mostly under fixed departure packages and groups. The Caribbean is the busiest cruise region in the world while Mexico is the busiest port with over 4.3 million passengers as per the 2019 figures.

Not just this, a small number of Indian travellers are also opting for expedition cruises to the Arctic and the Antarctic costing anything between USD 5000-15000 per person.

The love for Indian food

One of the biggest challenges for overseas tourism stakeholders has been to cater to the food for Indian travellers. Even though today’s tourists are increasingly passionate about international cuisine and trying local food while travelling, for a lot of Indian travellers, a traditional Indian meal becomes necessary after a few days.

But that is something that most Indians don’t have to worry anymore as they can find Indian food ranging from curries to chutneys as a part of the buffet in the main dining hall of many cruise ships. Here, the traditional cruise destinations like Singapore score as not only are they more familiar with the Indian palates, but also because Indian travellers account for a sizeable number onboard the cruises, unlike other destinations where Indians are still few and far between.

In Singapore, both Genting Dream and Spectrum of the Seas offer a wide variety of Indian cuisine in their daily buffet and an increasing number of non-Indian cruisers are also getting interested in Indian cuisine, making Indian food part of international cuisine on cruises even in Bahamas and Caribbean. Carnival Splendor has an Indian restaurant onboard, Masala Tiger, NCL Prima has Tamara restaurant while MSC World Europa houses Raj Polo Tea House dedicated to Indian tea culture.

Smooth sailing ahead

According to the Cruise Lines International Association, in 2019 the global cruise industry welcomed nearly 30 million passengers. During that time the industry created jobs for 1.8 million people worldwide and contributed more than USD 154 billion to the global economy. Now that cruising is back to pre-pandemic operations, the seafaring future looks bright for cruise lines and CLIA is expecting a full recovery by the end of 2023 and even an increase of 12 pc over 2019 numbers in 2024.

Though India is still relatively small in numbers as compared to the global market share, India is considered to be one of the fastest-growing cruise markets in the world.

The future looks quite promising, partly thanks to the Indian cruise brand, Cordelia Cruises, which has been operating domestic cruises to give Indian travellers from not just metro cities but even small towns and regions a cruise experience at home, as a preparation for an overseas cruise trip.

Cordelia itself is set to launch its first international destination this year, serving Sri Lanka and Maldives, from June 2023,while an international cruise operator is in process of deploying a ship in Mumbai for winter sailings to Maldives and Sri Lanka too. Moreover, Asian brand, Resorts World Cruises, has also bought another ship which will be home ported in Hong Kong.

 

Anita Jain Shah runs Indian Cruise Connoisseurs, India’s 1st cruise travel channel.