From L to R: Captain of Costa neoRiviera with Nalini Gupta, Tawde, Sanjay Bhatia & Marco Salvatico

Europe’s No 1 cruising company, Costa Cruises, is commencing its India season for the 3rd time with the arrival of its ship, Costa neoRiviera at the Mumbai International cruise terminal today.

Mumbai home port starting today, was celebrated in the presence of Tawde, Hon’ble Minister School Education, Sports and Youth Welfare, Hon’ble Minister of State, Water Resources, Stefania Costanza, Consul General of Italy, Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust, Ashish Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary Transport and Ports, other senior Government officials, Marco Salvatico, Director, MICE & India Business Development, Costa Cruises and Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations, Representative of Costa Cruises in India.

• 4 nights Mumbai – Kochi to start from December 2018

• 3 nights Kochi – Maldives to start from December 2018

• 7 nights Maldives – Mumbai to start from December 2018

The event kicked off with an announcement of the sailing of Costa neoRiviera from Mumbai to Maldives via Cochin for the 3rd season. The sailings are from 08th December 2018 to 16th March 2019. This is the 3rd season that Costa Cruises will be homeporting in Indian waters and is the only international cruise liner in India to offer regular cruises directly from Mumbai to Maldives, confirming its strong interest in proactively developing the Indian cruise market.

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This year Costa Cruises, has deployed its ship, Costa neoRiviera which will begin its first sailing from Mumbai with a Indian Wedding. The built-in infrastructure on the ship makes it particularly easy for groups to hold large events in one location. This classic cruise ship has a total of 654 cabins, including sea view cabins and suites with private balconies. With around 670 crew attending to approx. 1,700 passengers, the ship maintains its exclusivity and provides dedicated services to guests. Fully-equipped with a Casino, Theatre, Disco, Ballroom, Grand Bar, it aims to provide plenty in entertainment from Magic shows, operas and dancers that will captivate even the most well-travelled folks with spectacular performances.

The ship prides itself in serving up a culinary feast, catering to different dietary needs. Italian food is a speciality, with provision made to ensure customisation towards the Indian market by providing Indian & Jain meals. The wellness centre is spread across 1,300 sq. m with a gym, treatment rooms, sauna and steam room. It also has an outdoor jogging track, 4 Jacuzzis and 2 swimming pools. For those who would like to go shopping, the cruise ship has a duty-free shopping centre, and also offers a wide selection of books in the library for book lovers.

Massimo Brancaleoni, SVP Worldwide Sales, Costa Crociere, said keeping in mind the demand for cruises which is set to grow from India, Costa Cruises in 2019, will be bringing in an even larger ship, Costa Victoria with guest capacity of 2300 passenger. This has been in line with Costa Cruises being leaders in recognizing opportunities in new markets and paving the roads in fulfilling the same.

Sanjay Bhatia Chairman Mumbai Port added “Cruise Tourism is a niche travel segment and its demand is expanding amongst Indians. Observing this trend, we have planned to encourage Cruise Tourism by inviting cruise liners to explore Indian waters. I am thankful to our Minister who acknowledged and supported our efforts to boost Cruise Tourism”.

Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations, GSA Costa cruise India, says “this is exciting times to be in the cruising industry in India. I am quite confident, every Indian who experiences cruising with neoRiviera, will take away nostalgic memories with them” .