Mumbai had a rather spectacular Sunday night as Cordelia Cruises celebrated the arrival of its second ship, Cordelia Sky, with 1,500 drones lighting up the sky above Mahalaxmi Racecourse.
The drone show used light, music and movement to tell the story of the cruise line, Mumbai and its newest ship, ending with a giant formation inspired by Cordelia Sky. The event also gave guests a first look at what comes next for the company, with a third ship, Cordelia Sun, announced for 2027.
Onboard, guests will find:
Cordelia Cruises says it has welcomed more than 800,000 guests since beginning operations in 2021. Measuring 258 metres and weighing 77,104 gross tonnes, it has 1,002 staterooms and can accommodate 2,004 guests at double occupancy. There are also 245 mini suites for travellers looking for more space. Cordelia Sky will welcome its first commercial guests from Mumbai on 23 October 2026. Meanwhile, Cordelia Empress will begin sailing from Kochi on 25 October 2026. Cordelia Sun is scheduled to join the fleet in November 2027, giving Cordelia Cruises three ships and adding further capacity to its cruise programme. With two ships now operating from Mumbai and Kochi, and another ship planned for 2027, cruise holidays are becoming a bigger part of the options available to Indian travellers. Here’s how to plan your 2026 trip I went to Chandigarh to learn golf and came back with a new way to holiday; Golf-cation decoded I stopped folding my clothes while packing, and my suitcase suddenly had a lot more space I fly often, and these are the handbag essentials that make long flights and layovers easier
The arrival of Cordelia Sky takes Cordelia Cruises from a one-ship operation to a two-ship fleet. The company will now operate from two homeports, with Cordelia Sky sailing from Mumbai and Cordelia Empress moving to Kochi. For Indian travellers, that means more departure options and a wider selection of cruise holidays. Cordelia Sky is considerably larger than the company’s original ship. Its itineraries include two-night cruises at sea, three-night Goa sailings, four-night Lakshadweep trips and five-night holidays combining Goa and Lakshadweep. The ship is also scheduled to operate seven-night Southeast Asia cruises from Chennai, with destinations such as Phuket, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Its new itineraries include weekend breaks, Lakshadweep cruises and international sailings to Malé in the Maldives and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Travellers can also visit Lakshadweep destinations such as Minicoy and Kavaratti. There is more coming next year. For a company that began operations just five years ago, the expansion marks a significant change in scale. I spent a week in Hong Kong in November.
The company says the Kochi expansion could also bring more visitors and business opportunities for local port services, suppliers and tourism businesses.
