Cordelia Cruises takes delivery of its second ex-Norwegian Cruise Line ship this month, as the 2,000-passenger former Norwegian Sky prepares to start Indian-market sailings from Mumbai on October 23, 2026.

Norwegian Cruise Line handed over the 1999-built vessel in mid-September. The ship departed Turkey on September 26, transited the Suez Canal, and crossed the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait despite regional security concerns, according to AIS tracking data. It is scheduled to dock at its new Mumbai homeport for the first time on October 9.

Before repositioning, the vessel completed a drydock at a shipyard in Yalova, Turkey, where it received updates to its livery and public areas. Cordelia shared a behind-the-scenes look at the refurbishment project ahead of the delivery.

What does the deployment look like?

The Sky joins the former Empress of the Seas — Cordelia's first ship, originally built for Royal Caribbean — in targeting the Indian domestic cruise market. The initial program focuses on short, high-frequency itineraries:

• Three- to five-night cruises to Goa and Lakshadweep
• Two-night weekend cruises to nowhere from Mumbai
• A series of short sailings to other Indian destinations

From 2027, the ship widens its reach with weeklong voyages between Chennai and Singapore, calling in Malaysia and Thailand at ports including Phuket, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur. Those seven-night itineraries would make Cordelia one of the few operators running scheduled international cruise product out of Indian homeports.

Is more capacity coming?

Yes. Under a deal announced in early 2025, the former Norwegian Sun will also join Cordelia's fleet for cruises in India starting next year. The 2001-built ship finishes a farewell season for NCL in Europe before launching its maiden Cordelia season in Mumbai on November 1, 2027.

The back-to-back transfers give Cordelia a three-ship fleet with roughly 5,000-plus combined berths concentrated on a single national market — a scale that positions the operator to capture growing Indian cruise demand at a time when global lines have largely limited their own subcontinent deployments.

For travel sellers, the immediate commercial story is short-cruise inventory out of Mumbai, followed in 2027 by a Southeast Asia corridor from Chennai that competes head-on with regional fly-cruise products. The Sky's first revenue sailing is set for October 23, with the Sun's Cordelia debut following on November 1, 2027.