The Best Ideas Come Out Of The Blue

From skepticism to dream weddings at sea, cruises have charted an exciting course in India’s leisure landscape, Naresh Rawal tells us.

- Tsunami Costabir

For decades, the idea of taking a cruise holiday felt alien to most Indian travellers — a little too Western, a little too uncertain. Would it be safe? Would it be claustrophobic? Would the sea make them sick?

“Those were the most common questions when we first started marketing cruises in India in the late '90s,” recalls Naresh Rawal, Senior Vice President — Sales & Marketing (India & Middle East), StarDream Cruises. And it took years of awareness, reassurance, and experience-building to wash away those perceptions.

From Sea Skepticism To Sea Celebrations

StarDream Cruises, which operates the Genting Dream from Singapore and ships like the Star Navigator and Star Voyager from Taiwan and Hong Kong, respectively, is part of an iconic lineage. “Star Cruises was possibly the brand that introduced cruising in India,” Rawal says. “We've been marketing cruises here since 1996-97.”

Today, the transformation is striking. What was once considered a risky or extravagant mode of travel is now a mainstream, aspirational experience — even for weddings. “We've done some beautiful Indian weddings on board, including traditional Hindu ceremonies. Of course, fire is a big concern on a ship, but we've created controlled spaces under safety supervision so that even the sacred agni finds its place at sea.”