South India is now a major destination for Royal Caribbean Cruise to attract passengers to board its ships to be deployed in Singapore. The cruise line will have two of its mega ships touring some of the major south-east Asian tourist destinations.

“South India is the largest source market for Singapore and we hope to attract passengers to come on board the cruise vessels,” Ratna Chadha, Chief Excutive, Tirun Travel Marketing, India Representative of the cruise line, told Business Line . The cruise line continues its winter deployment of Asia’s largest ship – Mariner of the Seas – from November 2014 to March 2015. The Legend of the Seas will be positioned in Singapore from June 2015 followed by the Mariner of the Seas later in the year, she said.

Chadha said nearly 15 million Indians go abroad as tourists, and this segment is growing yearly at around 16 per cent. A lakh Indians go on cruise vessels, and this segment is annually growing at 8.5 per cent.

So far, people from North and West India have contributed to the maximum number of passengers from India going on cruise. However, with the Royal Caribbean committing to Asia with year-round deployment at Singapore, Chadha expects the South to contribute more in future due to close proximity to that country.

A cruise holiday to the America or Europe with flights to departure ports, pre/post hotel accommodation, visa and insurance and the cruise costs around $6,000, while a cruise out of Singpaore costs $2,200 per couple. ,

Depending on the cruise, the ships will cover major destinations in south-east Asia such as Phuket, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Phu My in Vietnam, she said.

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