A traditional welcome being accorded to tourists who arrived at the Kochi port on the international cruise liner Celebrity Millennium.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
With the arrival of the international cruise vessel World Odyssey in Kochi, the cruise tourism season has officially begun.
Two foreign cruise ships carrying hundreds of passengers have already called at the port. During their brief stopover in Kochi, the travellers on both the ships visited nearby attractions, bringing renewed enthusiasm to the tourism sector. A new addition to this year’s package tours is Kadamakkudy, which is fast emerging as one of the sought-after tourist destinations in Kochi.
World Odyssey, operated as part of the ‘Semester at Sea’ academic programme, and carrying over 700 passengers (students), docked in Kochi on Wednesday (November 19, 2025). The vessel has only one stopover in India, which is Kochi, and will leave on Sunday (November 23, 2025). While some passengers visited destinations in Kochi, others made trips to other States.
The second international cruise liner Celebrity Millennium carrying over 2,000 passengers arrived in Kochi on Friday (November 21, 2025) and left on Saturday (November 22, 2025). In this brief stopover, passengers visited destinations in Kochi, a tourism official said.
An art and craft exhibition, along with a live demonstration showcasing the State’s rich heritage, was organised by the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) on Friday and Saturday for the visiting cruise passengers at the Kochi port, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism.
A total of 30 ships are expected to arrive in Kochi in the financial year 2025-26, of which 14 are foreign cruise/passenger vessels. Geopolitical tensions such as the Red Sea crisis have affected the movement of cruise ships, with as many as 20 trips getting cancelled last year.
The cruise season starts from September, but geopolitical tensions have put a strain on the season which is affecting the cruise industry, according to officials. “We had a promising season before the pandemic. But we are witnessing a gradual recovery in the case of international cruise liners now. There was a boost to domestic cruise tourism post pandemic,” said a port official.
Last year saw the arrival of 32 ships, of which 21 were international vessels.
Published – November 22, 2025 08:14 pm IST
