Cordelia Sky sets sail from Mumbai, and Cordelia Cruises now has two ships

Picture a hotel with 12 floors, two swimming pools, a 930-seat theatre and about 10 restaurants. Now picture that whole hotel floating out of Mumbai towards Goa. That is Cordelia Sky, and on Friday, 23 October 2026, it began its first paid trips with guests.

Cordelia Sky is the biggest ship of Cordelia Cruises, a cruise company based in Mumbai. Until now the company had just one ship. With Sky, it becomes a two-ship company. Here is the story of the company, the ship, and how a business like this makes money.

Who is Cordelia Cruises?

Cordelia Cruises is part of a company called Waterways Leisure Tourism Ltd, as BusinessLine reports. It started sailing in 2021 with one ship, the Empress, later known as Cordelia Empress.

Its idea was simple: make a cruise holiday feel normal for Indian families, not just something seen in films. President and CEO Jurgen Bailom said the company was started with a vision of making cruising a preferred way to travel for Indians. He also said it has carried more than eight lakh passengers since it began. Marine Insight puts the same figure as more than 800,000 guests.

How does a cruise company earn money?

Think of a cruise ship as a hotel that moves. A normal hotel sells you a room for the night. A cruise company sells you a cabin (your room on the ship) for a trip of a few nights, while the ship carries you from place to place.

On Cordelia Sky, fares change with the route, the length of the trip, the season and the type of cabin. Just like a train, where an AC first class seat costs more than a sleeper berth, a big suite costs more than a small inside cabin with no window.

The ship also has gift shops, a spa and a salon, and different places to eat. Some restaurants, like Palace Restaurant and The Great Outdoor Cafe, are called complimentary, while others are called speciality places, according to BusinessLine.

Four steps of a Cordelia Sky trip: book a cabin, board at Mumbai, eat and swim on board, wake up near Goa or Lakshadweep — A short cruise from Mumbai, step by step.

How big is Cordelia Sky?

The ship is 258 metres long, has 1,002 cabins and can carry 2,004 guests when two people share each cabin.

The cabins come in many sizes. There are 429 inside cabins, 313 ocean view cabins, 245 mini suites with balconies, 11 penthouse suites and four Chairman's Suites, according to Travel Trade Journal. Add them up and you get 1,002.

For fun, there are two pools, five small heated pools, a fitness centre, and even pickleball and cricket at sea. Vegetarian and Jain meals are offered too, the same report says.

Here is a fun fact. Cordelia Sky is not brand new. It was built in 1999 and earlier sailed as Norwegian Sky and Pride of Aloha for Norwegian Cruise Line. Cordelia says it has been fitted with updated technology. Buying a used ship and doing it up is a bit like buying a second-hand car and getting it serviced: quicker than waiting years for a new one.

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From one ship to two

With two ships, the company can sail from two cities. Cordelia Sky now runs short trips from Mumbai: a two-night trip at sea, a three-night Goa trip, a four-night Lakshadweep trip and a five-night Goa and Lakshadweep trip. Cordelia Empress will now sail from Kochi, its new home port. Marine Insight says the Empress starts its Kochi sailings from 25 October, to make cruises easier to reach for people in Kerala and south India.

Before and after: one ship sailing from Mumbai until October 2026, two ships from 23 October 2026 — Sky takes Mumbai, the Empress moves to Kochi.

The two ships together now have 1,798 cabins and room for 3,596 guests, a 126% jump in guest space over the old one-ship setup, Marine Insight reports. Since Sky has 1,002 cabins, that means the Empress has 796.

Counter rising to 1,798 cabins, with a small bar for 796 and a tall bar for 1,798 — More cabins means more trips to sell.

The ship was shown off in style before its first trip. On 11 October, about 1,500 drones lit up the Mumbai sky at Mahalaxmi racecourse, drawing shapes of Mumbai, India and the ship. The show also marked the company's five-year anniversary, UNI reported.

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What comes next?

Cordelia has big plans, all shared at the launch:

A third ship, Cordelia Sun, is set to join in 2027. Marine Insight says by November 2027.
From 2027, Sky will also run seven-night trips between Chennai and Singapore, stopping at places like Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket.
A 34-day cruise from Mumbai to Sydney is planned for the 2028 monsoon season, covering seven countries and 16 ports.
The company plans to create 20,000 more roles over the next three years. It has started a cadet programme (training for young people who want to work at sea) and is moving closer to its first female captain.

Bailom also shared a big goal for India: "Our goal is, by 2032, to be the top five largest cruise market in the world."

The hard part: food and fuel

Running a ship is costly. It burns a lot of fuel and feeds thousands of people every day. Bailom pointed to rising food and fuel costs linked to world events. He said the company is "still able to manage" and hopes things get better soon.

Think of a samosa stall. If oil and potatoes get costlier but the stall cannot raise its price overnight, less money is left over from each plate. A cruise company faces the same squeeze, only with ship fuel and meals for thousands of guests.

Why this matters to young Indians

A few years ago, a cruise was something most Indians saw only in films. Now a Mumbai company is running two ships, planning a third, and talking about thousands of new roles at sea and on shore. For students thinking about careers in travel, hotels or shipping, this is a sector worth watching. For everyone else, a weekend on the sea from Mumbai is now one more holiday choice, next to a train to Goa or a flight to Kerala.

Sources

You may republish this story under CC BY 4.0: credit Pranav Sharma and link to this page.