When Anita and Rakesh Sinha began planning their 25th wedding anniversary, they wanted a holiday that felt special and easy for the whole family. After researching some options, they booked a 5 night cruise from Mumbai to Rakshadeep and Kochi.
“This was the first time my family was on a cruise ship. By the end of the trip, what began as an experiment had turned into a lasting love for a cruise vacation,” Anita says.
This experience reflects the growing popularity of cruise vacations among Indian travelers.
With increasing disposable income, better port facilities and exposure to global travel trends, cruises are becoming a popular holiday option today. Family, young professionals and solo adventurers are drawn to the idea of a holiday where travel, accommodation, dining, entertainment and multiple destinations are all wrapped in one well-organized experience.
In response to this trend and potential demand, INT2CRUISES (a cruise booking platform founded in Singapore in 2022) announced its Indian business in January last year.
The platform establishes itself as an exclusive cruise OTA (online travel agency) and offers an integrated, technology-enabled experience. The Indian market claims to offer a specially tailored experience for outbound cruise travelers in India.
Currently, INT2CRUISES has access to more than 400 ships from over 25 international cruise lines with over 30,000 itineraries and over 50,000 navigation and individual cruise departures, across more than 300 global destinations. The platform provides real-time details on price and cabin availability that are instantly updated based on demand and reservations.
The itinerary includes departures from ports in Mumbai, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai, voyages to nearby local ports and multi-country routes, and remote expeditions to destinations such as Europe, Alaska, the Caribbean, and Galatica, Galapos and Oaktrick.
Industry-built platform
The founding team at INT2CRUISES combines over 50 years of experience in cruise operations, travel sales, marketing and customer service. The leadership consists of Akansha Agarwal, co-founder and chief marketing officer. Vinu Vijay, Operations Director. Rohit Jaiswall, Cruise Counseling Lead. Josh Wen, Regional Director – Asia.
Each member of the team previously worked in the cruise and travel sectors in Southeast Asia and India.
Vine Vijay, who previously led the operations team at Royal Caribbean, said, “Asian cruise travel was not only in stock, but the platform's capabilities were underserved. The digital interface was not designed with the needs of the cruise in mind, including complex itineraries, multiple cabin types, and onboard experiences.
MSC Euribia
“We knew there was demand there, and what was missing was an ecosystem that could handle the complexity, including flight, visas, hotels, excursions, insurance, and more, with all the integrated paths.
Addressing structural gaps in cruise planning
Traditional cruise bookings in India involve navigating fragmented processes. Many times, multiple agents and offline channels handle it, such as flights, cabins, visas, hotels, and individual bookings for transfers. This process is a deterrent, especially for first-time cruisers who are new to this process.
“We started by solving very realistic issues. People had to book flights, cruises, hotels and apply for visas separately. Everything had to be sourced individually. We removed these barriers and created a smarter, more accessible ecosystem.
INT2CRUISES is designed as a cruise-first end-to-end platform, allowing users to explore, compare and book from leading global operators such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruise, MSC Cruise, Costa, Disney Cruise Line, Silver Sea, and Viking River Cruise.
Users can also book cabins and bundle essential services such as flights, hotel stays, visas, curated excursions, and insurance. Real-time inventory, live pricing, and recommended tools with AI personalize your experience based on user preferences.
“Cruise Counselor” provides live support via in-app chat and phone, leading travelers through planning, documentation and complex itineraries, especially for multi-depression and long-distance sailing.
Demand pattern
Voyages usually involve two types of travel. It is an international sailing where travelers depart from hubs such as Mumbai and Dubai, as well as travelers fly to Europe or North America and take on cruises covering multiple countries and coastal cities.
Sky Princess Cruise
In all markets, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Africa and China, the platform's total user base had surpassed 11,000 passengers by mid-2024. Bootstrap Int2cruises recorded a consistent year-over-year growth of 40% across Malaysia, Myanmar, China and Africa. In India, the total sales value is estimated to be 600 Rs by fiscal 2028, with the overall group forecast exceeding 1,000 Rs.
Following the launch of India, INT2CRUISES published cruises in the first quarter of 2024, between 500 and 600 Indian travelers in the platform in the first quarter of 2024.
“People are not only casually browsing, but are actively involved in cabin types, itineraries and add-ons. That's a sign of mature demand,” Vijay said.
The platform primarily serves travelers over the age of 35. Destinations such as Alaska, Antarctic and Arctic have been gaining interest from people over 60 years old, especially for long-distance and expedition cruises. Demand is also growing from Tier II and III cities in India, Vijay notes.
Approximately 70% of users choose cruises as their travel anchor. The cruise itself is not just an add-on to other travel elements, it's a major vacation plan.
Business models and challenges
INT2CRUISES revenue streams include standard cruise commissions, bundled travel services (flights, hotels, visas, transfers), curation experiences, pre-purchased cruise inventory, cruise lines, tourism boards, and marketing cooperation with destination partners.
The platform currently offers cruise-only packages starting at Rs 6,500 per person per night, but the premium experience scales up to 5.16 lakh per night for ultra-luxurious all-sweet sailing, including dining, drinks, excursions, Wi-Fi and concierge services.
Rather than replicating the Southeast Asian model, INT2CRUISES developed an Indian-specific format. One such innovation is “team cruises.” It combines Indian cuisine, cultural activities and live performances by singers such as Hariharan and Mano.
Building an end-to-end cruise booking platform requires multiple challenges, such as technology integration, as it is complicated for a variety of cruise brands to operate on a diverse high-tech stack and bringing all their inventory to one place.
Market possibilities
According to Horizon Grand View Research, the Indian cruise market is projected to generate revenue of $322.6 million by 2030, with a combined annual growth of 15.1% from 2025 to 2030.
INT2CRUISES competes with players such as Tirun Travel Marketing, TravelTriangle, MakemyTrip, Yatra, and CruiseBay.
To seize market opportunities, the platform plans to add more features and simplified tools, including AI chatbots, self-service models, group dashboards, dynamic price alerts, and real-time itinerary builders that customize cruise plans.
