Kochi’s once-busy cruise calendar now looks noticeably uncrowded. In the past year, there’s been a steep drop in the number of luxury cruise liners docking at the city’s port.
The reasons, according to those in the industry, point to a messy mix—complicated immigration processes, higher port charges, and security bottlenecks.
To put it simply, cruise activity has slowed to a crawl. In the last six months, only three major cruise vessels arrived at Kochi.
The most recent among them—the Royal Caribbean’s “Anthem of the Seas”—dropped anchor in October, bringing in around 4,800 foreign tourists. That was the last big name on the list. Since then, nothing.
The slowdown raises eyebrows, especially when you look back a few years. In 2017–18, Kochi welcomed 42 cruise ships, carrying nearly 50,000 passengers. Even in 2022–23, the count stood at 41 vessels, with over 35,000 tourists arriving. But something seems to have changed since then—Kochi is now missing from many cruise itineraries.
One possible reason? The cost. Cruise operators are said to be paying around ₹10 lakh per ship just to dock at the Kochi port.
The Willingdon Island terminal does offer global-standard facilities like a modern launch bay, immigration desks, and a crew lounge. But it seems even that isn’t enough to draw the ships back.
For local businesses, the fallout could be real. From tour operators to handicraft sellers, many small and medium enterprises had come to rely on these international guests. Each visit wasn’t just about sightseeing—it brought in tourist spend, especially in and around Fort Kochi and Mattancherry.
While there’s no official word yet on whether Kochi will reclaim its cruise crown, the current trend doesn’t look promising. If the issues around entry processes, port charges, and overall coordination aren’t sorted, Kochi’s absence on the cruise map might become the new normal.
