Royal Caribbean's newest ship, Spectrum of the Seas, has finally arrived in Asia, with her first call at Mumbai port today, May 9.  She is on a 14-night cruise from Dubai to Singapore which will next visit Cochin on May 11.

Spectrum of the Seas' visit to Mumbai has an additional significance, as it is now the largest ship to ever call in India.  

To celebrate the maiden call, plaque exchanges were conducted between Spectrum of the Seas’ Captain Charles Teige and tourism ministry and port officials namely Honorable Minister Mr Jaykumar Rawal, Tourism Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Sanjay Bhatia, Chairman of Mumbai Port and Mr Keki Master, Senior Vice President of JM Baxi.

Spectrum of The Seas will offer the following itineraries from Singapore:

• A 3-night cruise to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) on May 18
• A 4-night cruise to Penang on May 21
• A 9-night one-way cruise from Singapore to Shanghai, calling at Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Hong Kong (with an overnight stay) on May 25.

The ship will debut her Shanghai season from June 2019, while Quantum of the Seas will return to Singapore for a six-month deployment from this November till next April with 34 sailings.  Her itineraries will include 4-night cruises to Phuket and Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) or Penang; 5-night cruises to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang and Phuket; a 7-night cruise to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang and Phuket; a 7-night cruise to Bangkok (Laem Chabang) (overnight) and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My); and a 9-night cruise to Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Hue/Danang (Chan May).

Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas is on her way to Australia, but along the way made her first stop ever in India.

Explorer of the Seas stopped in Goa on October 27, 2015 and in Cochin on October 28, 2015.

At both stops, she was welcomed by the local port officials and Royal Caribbean’s Indian representatives.

An official plaque and key ceremony was conducted onboard between Captain Kjetil Gjerstad and Sri. Senthilvel, deputy chairman of Cochin Port. This is Royal Caribbean’s third ship to visit India this year, following Rhapsody of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas.

Explorer of the Seas is currently on an 11-Night Middle East and Asia Cruise which started from Dubai and will also visit Penang and Port Klang before ending in Singapore.

Royal Caribbean has been named the Best Cruise (India) of Readers Choice Awards 2013 by Travel + Leisure India & South Asia.

Royal Caribbean was the first runner up in last year's awards but this year they came out on top.

The readers’ poll was conducted over five months from August to December 2013, on the best hotels, resorts, spas, destinations, airlines, cruise lines and travel companies in India.

Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing that is Royal Caribbean’s India International Representative, received the award at the ceremony tonight. She said, “We thank Travel + Leisure readers as well as our customers and travel agents for their recognition and strong support. This prestigious travel award is testimony to Royal Caribbean’s growing brand presence and reputation in India, which has been boosted by the deployment of Asia’s largest Voyager Class ships to the region and the fleetwide revitalisation in the recent years. We aim to continue bringing the best of our innovative products such as the new upcoming Quantum Class ships and our high service standards to more travellers in India, so that in the long run, Royal Caribbean will become a top vacation choice in India.”

Royal Caribbean sees India as an emerging cruise market that they want to target for increasing the amount of people who cruise with them.

Royal Caribbean Regional vice president Gavin Smith said, "Cruising is now popular in the metro cities and spreading to the mini-metros... Most of the major cruise liners are present in India today. Cruising is now a part of the consideration set of the affluent and well travelled.

Tirun Travel Marketing, which represents Royal Caribbean in India, is expanding its network in India. At present it has a network of seven offices and plans more.

The numbers look good so far for India with over 1,00,000 Indians taking a cruise vacation in 2013. Year-to-year growth is at about 8 percent and locals expect that rate to continue again this year.

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas arrived today at Mormugao Port in Goa, India.  Mariner is making a stop in Goa as part of a sailing from Dubai.  The ship was greeted by the Deputy Chief Minister of Goa, Francisco D’Souza.

A traditional reception with Goan music and dance was organized by the Goa Tourism, Government of Goa to welcome the passengers. The passengers were also given memorabilia by the Goa Tourism while they disembarked from the ship to tour Goa.

Tourism Minister of Goa, Dilip Parulekar said, “We welcome this cruise and we will work on bringing-in more cruises and tourist in Goa.”

As part of Royal Caribbean's decision to move Mariner of the Seas to Asia, the large cruise ship will call on Goa and Kochi May 24 and 26, respectively, this year.

Mariner of the Seas will offer three-to-five-night cruises from Singapore to Penang, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Phuket in Thailand in June. Subsequently, it will move to China and offer a choice of four-, five- and seven-night North Asian sailings from Baoshan, Shanghai. Later in the year, the ship will return to Singapore and offer sailings till March next year.

Ships like Mariner of the Seas are able to visit ports in Asia thanks to construction of new cruise terminals.

Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing, said, “In the past year, Royal Caribbean International’s guest capacity in Asia has witnessed a threefold increase and our regional cruise offering has been augmented with two Voyager Class ships. We are pleased to bring more opportunities for WOW!, closer to home for Indian travellers."

Royal Caribbean Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific, Gavin Smith, spoke in a recent interview about the prospects of Royal Caribbean sending cruise ships to India.

"The Indian cruise market is believed to have enjoyed modest growth in recent years. It is certainly on Royal Caribbean’s list of high-potential source markets, and mid- to long-term growth is anticipated. The most significant impact on this growth will be a decision by any of the major cruise lines to home port a ship in India. This will create a market; however, it will depend on the provision of adequate facilities."

Smith reiterated the single most important thing needed to grow the Indian cruise market is development of the port infrastructure in India. For that to happen, local government needs to commit to the idea of developing its ports, which in turn will send a clear signal to the cruise market that India is ready for international cruise ships.

"The establishment of a dedicated facility does not have to be expensive or an architectural marvel. It is important that it is low-cost and functional. There are many ports around the world that have erected temporary facilities to attract the industry, and at an appropriate time have constructed permanent facilities, thus, achieving responsible growth in conjunction with the cruise industry."

Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas arrived at New Mangalore, India today and is the first cruise vessel of 2012-13.

S. Gopalakrishna, Traffic Manager of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), said this is the largest cruise vessel ever handled at the port.

P. Tamilvanan, Chairman of NMPT, and the Traffic Manager, interacted with the Captain of the vessel. Dr Tamilvanan said that he got a good feedback on the world class facilities available at the cruise lounge, neat and tidy berth area, and immigration facility from the ship operators.

Officials from the New Mangalore Port Trust say Royal Caribbean is likely to send 13 cruise ships to its port in one year.

Traffic Manager for the New Mangalore Port Trust, S. Gopalakrishna, claimed that Royal Caribbean sent a team to the city to visit the port on Tuesday.  While at the port, Royal Caribbean also held discussions with the Chairman of the New Mangalore Port Trust, Mr P. Tamilvanan.

Royal Caribbean is going to increase the length of its Dubai-based season for Brilliance of the Seas for the winter 2011-2012 season. Brilliance of the Seas began operating from the United Arab Emirates in January 2010 but would split it's time back in Europe.  Now, Brilliance of the Seas will return to Dubai two months early in November 2011 and will offer an increased range of itineraries including longer cruises up to 12- and even 18-nights.

Royal Caribbean's General Manager Jo Rzymowska had an explanation for the change in itinerary, citing high demand for the middle eastern cruise

Dubai is very popular with UK & Irish travellers, and cruises consistently offer significant value for money. We have adjusted the itinerary based on our trade partner feedback and replaced Bahrain with an overnight stay in Muscat. Also included within this cruise itinerary is an overnight stay in the city onboard the ship at the end of the cruise which makes this an affordable way to enjoy this fascinating Emirate. The chance to explore more of the Middle East, Arabian Sea and even India make these additional longer sailings truly exciting options for agents to maximize.

Given the longer six month season that Brilliance of the Seas will now serve, she will visit ports such as Muscat, Oman; Cochin, Goa and Mumbai, India as well as the first time ever visiting the New Mangalore port in Panambur on the west coast of India.  The town is famous for its beautiful beaches on the Arabian Sea, the Nandaneshwara Temple and the Gurupura River.  Brilliance of the Seas will be the first Royal Caribbean ship ever to stop at this port.