GENOA — Costa Cruises has kicked off its cruise program in India with the Costa Serena.

At an official event earlier this week, the cruise line marked the arrival of the Serena in Mumbai, India, where it will homeport and operate a newly created India program of two-, three- and five-day itineraries. Calls will include Mumbai, Kochi, Goa and the beautiful Island of Agatti in Lakshadweep. The last itinerary celebrating the completion of Costa Serena’s India program will also explore the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

The event was attended by Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, along with Francesco Raffa, Director Asia Region & Growth Markets, Costa Cruises; Nalini Gupta, Lotus Aero Enterprises, GSA of Costa Cruises; and other senior officials.

“We are offering our full support to the cruise line to homeport their ships at Indian ports. We are ready to support further development of our port infrastructure to accommodate large cruise ships,” said Sarbananda Sonowal. “It is a moment of pride for us that when the Mumbai Port completes 150 years, we have Costa coming back to offer domestic cruising options to Indian travellers.”

Raffa added: “We are extremely happy to sail again in India where we’ve been operating since 2016. We are bringing to our Indian guests our authentic Italian hospitality with a local personalization in terms of food and entertainment. India is an important market for Costa, both for our established Fly&Cruise programs to Dubai and the Mediterranean, and for our newly introduced local operations sailing domestically. We are grateful to the Indian government for the efforts to support the domestic tourism and on infrastructures development. India is working to develop the cruise industry and we are excited to sail together towards the vision of the Indian government.”

Costa Serena has a total of 1,500 cabins, 505 of which have private balconies, and 14 passenger decks. Onboard, guests can enjoy a wellness centre and a gym with sea views, a beauty salon, theatre, restaurants serving Indian and international cuisine, bars, four swimming pools, a shopping area and a kids club for children and teenagers.