Category Archives: Cruises

New luxury cruise brand, Cordelia Cruises is all set to start its maiden sailing from 7th May, 2021 from Mumbai to various destinations including Goa, Kochi and Chennai with its first ship that has a capacity of 2,000 individuals. The ship was earlier owned by Royal Caribbean. Waterways Leisure Tourism had bought over the cruise brand Jalesh Cruises.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sagarika International Cruise Terminal at Cochin and said that Government of India is taking many efforts to improve tourism related infrastructure in Kerala. “The inauguration of this International Cruise Terminal is one example of this. It brings both comfort and convenience for tourists,” he said.

The Government of India, the Government of West Bengal and the World Bank signed a US$ 105 million project to improve the inland water transport infrastructure in Kolkata, West Bengal. In the first phase, the project will enhance the capacity and improve the safety of the Inland Water Transport system; including rehabilitating existing jetties and buying new ferries.

Sharing news about a new cruise brand, Jurgen Bailom, President & CEO, Cordelia Cruises, says, “I am excited to share news of the launch of luxury cruise brand Cordelia Cruises with its first ship The Empress that has a capacity of 2,000 individuals. It was earlier owned by Royal Caribbean. We are working on adding a second ship to the line.” Waterways Leisure Tourism had recently bought over the brand Jalesh Cruises.

Antara Luxury River Cruises recently hosted around 20 luxury travel planners for a familiarisation trip which started from Kolkata. It was the maiden voyage of Antara Cruises to explore ‘Europe on the Ganges’, and the trip lasted for two nights and three days. The luxury river cruise brand was launched in August this year.  

Discover Qatar, the destination management subsidiary of Qatar Airways, has announced the launch of its first expedition cruise series around Qatar’s coastline. They are designed for seasoned and adventurous travellers, provide an opportunity to observe the largest gathering of the world’s largest living fish – the whale shark – in the Al Shaheen marine zone.

Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways in a review meeting for the implementation of cruise service said that ‘Ramayan Cruise Tour’ on the Saryu river in Ayodhya will be launched soon. It will be the first-ever luxury Cruise service on the Saryu river (Ghagra/National Waterways-40) in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Zen Cruises has announced the sale of its premium cruise line brand- Jalesh to Waterways Leisure Tourism, part of Sant Chatwal promoted Dreams Hotel Group. The restructuring also involves the acquisition of the brand’s entire digital interface, technology, customer database, travel agent partner network backend. Waterways have also hired existing executives and employees of Zen Cruises.  

Cruise ship Karnika, operated by Jalesh Cruises, has been sold at an auction in India for $11.65 million. Having debuted in 1990, Karnika has operated for numerous cruise lines throughout her history. It was in April 2019 that a cruise ship Pacific Jewel was renamed Karnika at a ceremony held at the Princess Dock of the Mumbai Port Trust. Jalesh Cruises has suspended operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

World Dream, Dream Cruises’ 150,695 gross ton megaship, arrived in Singapore on October 25 with 187 crew members aboard who have completed their 14-day quarantine on the cruise ship prior to arrival in Singapore. The crew will undergo a further series of mandatory COVID-19 testing as stipulated by the local authorities and are required to test negative before signing-up for active duty. Prior to her arrival in Singapore, World Dream has been on hiatus in Rotterdam, the Netherlands after being taken out of service in early February. The cruise ship will undergo thorough cleaning and sanitization prior to her inaugural ‘Super Seacation’ sailings on November 6, to ensure the health and safety of all passengers on board. World Dream will be the newest built cruise ship to call Singapore home and will be the first cruise ship to restart service in the Lion City.