Cordelia Empress

The 1990-built (as "Nordic Empress") cruise ship Empress Of The Seas was a Royal Caribbean Group-owned vessel previously operated by Pullmantur Cruises under the name "Pullmantur Empress" (2008-2016). The liner is currently named "MS Empress" (dubbed "Cordelia Empress") and is operated by the new brand (2021-startup) Cordelia Cruises India.

The company has plans to acquire second-hand ships and by the year 2025 to have 4-5 vessels in its fleet, representing ~USD 1 billion (~EUR 940M / ~GBP 800M) in investments. These plans are based on India's source market (~200,000 annual cruisers) and having one of the world's largest coastlines (~7600 km / 4720 mi). Some projections for the next decade claim that India can increase cruise shipping traffic from 0,4M (2022) to 4M (2030), also growing the industry's economic potential from USD 110M (2022) to USD 5,5 billion (2030).

In 2023, Cordelia's plans were for 2-3 more ships (larger than Empress) to be purchased at estimated cost ~INR 500 crore (~USD 60,5 million per unit) and financed through internal accruals. In FY2024/fiscal year, Cordelia surpassed 100 voyages, serving 0,5+ million passengers through bi-weekly short cruises. The company also reported a robust demand with a consistent 97% cruise berth occupancy rate. Cordelia's customer base comprises 65% families and solo travelers, with growing interest from corporate and private clients in the MICE segment ((business meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) as well requests for shipboard weddings and private celebrations.

In mid-December 2020, RCI sold the ships Empress OTS (30-years-old) and Majesty OTS (28-years-old). The new shipowners were not disclosed. A total of 40x Empress OTS itineraries (scheduled between March 6, 2021, and April 16, 2022) were canceled.

RCI's Empress OTS 2021-2022 itinerary program included voyages in the Eastern-Western Caribbean (7-day roundtrips from PortMiami / March 6 through April 25, 2021), roundtrips from NYC New York to Bermuda (April 5 - August 9, 2021), four 7-day Canada and New England cruises (NYC roundtrips, May 24, June 21, July 19, Aug 16, 2021), 10-11-day Canadian cruises out of Montreal (September 2 - October 4, 2021) and the rest were 7-day Southern Caribbean cruises from homeport San Juan Puerto Rico (November 6, 2021, through April 16, 2022).

The vessel (IMO number 8716899) is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311000515) and registered in Nassau. Empress OTS was last drydock-refurbished (by RCI) in 2016.

History - construction and ownership

In late-December 2020, the India-based company Waterways Leisure Tourism Pvt Ltd (Private Limited) announced the purchase of Empress OTS as well as the start of its fully-owned new brand "Cordelia Cruises".

The shipowner (Waterways Leisure Tourism) was incorporated on November 2, 2020, with registration number 372580 and CIN number U63030DL2020PTC372580. The company is registered in Delhi India and specializes in supporting and auxiliary transport services and travel agency activities.

The company's current directors are Vijay Kher and Saurabh Jain. Both companies are fully-owned subsidiaries of Essel Group India (aka Zee Group/parent company) - headquartered in Mumbai and led by Jurgen Bailom (President and CEO). Waterways Leisure Tourism and Cordelia Cruises are both part of Dream Hotel Group (luxury hotel brand and management company founded and controlled by Sant Singh Chatwal/Indian-American businessman) that also owns the brands Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, Unscripted Hotels, and The Chatwal.

Following the announcement, in a press release, Jurgen Bailom commented that Waterways Leisure Tourism recently acquired the Jalesh Cruises brand and entered the Indian cruising market with "MS Empress". He added that Cordelia will have a second ship in its fleet, but didn't mention if there were negotiations for buying Majesty of the Seas.

In late-August 2018, Zen Cruises/Jalesh Cruises (a new company owned by Essel Group) was announced as the buyer of Pacific Jewel. Essel Group (1926-founded, headquartered in Mumbai India) is an Indian conglomerate of several corporations with business divisions in media, news, technology, entertainment, packaging, infrastructure developments, financial services, precious metals (gold and silver refinery), education, charity.

Jalesh Cruises operated only 1 ship (MS Karnika / Pacific Jewel) but in January 2020 announced the planned acquisition of a second (second-hand) vessel (the name was not announced) which was scheduled to start operations in October 2020. However, in mid-October 2020, Jalesh announced in a statement that the company suspends operations permanently due to the ongoing COVID-related port closures and international travel restrictions.

Jalesh India suspended (initially temporarily) passenger shipping since March 12, 2020, mounting debts from creditors. MS Karnika remained permanently docked at Port Mumbai, with a skeleton crew of 60. In October, the company's creditors (via India's Admiralty Court) had the vessel arrested in Port Mumbai. Jalesh planned to restart operations on November 6, 2020, as India's government permitted cruise vessels to start passenger shipping from October 1. Sadly, karnika ship's AIS transmitted for the last time on November 24, 2020, showing the vessel anchored near Alang Ship Breaking Yard.

On December 13, 2020, the vessel left the Sauda Bay anchorage (off Port Sauda-Chania, Crete Island) en route to Malta. On December 30, it left the Sauda Bay anchorage en route to Muscat Oman (AIS data), on January 1st anchored off Port Said (Cairo, Egypt), on January 2nd transitted the Suez Canal and on January 11 anchored off Port Muscat.

During its service history, the ship Empress OTS (construction order name "Future Seas") was operating under the names Nordic Empress (1990-2004, constructed for the Admiral Cruise Lines /defunct), MS Empress (aka "Pullmantur Empress", 2004-2008, operated by the RCCL's subsidiary company Pullmantur Cruises, Spain) and under its current name "Empress of the Seas" (between 2004-2008, and from 2016 onwards).

In 1987, Royal Caribbean merged with the shipowner Admiral Cruises, and the Admiral brand was dissolved. The still-under-construction vessel was incorporated into the fleet as "Nordic Empress" - the last RCI ship named without the suffix "of the Seas". The name was changed to "Empress of the Seas" on May 8, 2004, following an extensive drydock refit and refurbishment.

In March 2007 was announced that starting March 2008, the liner will be transferred to Pullmantur. The vessel's last Royal Caribbean cruise departed on March 7, 2008. The inaugural cruise of Pullmantur Empress was on March 15, 2008. In November 2012, Empress became Pullmantur fleet's first to receive the company's new logo and hull colors/pattern. In October 2015, the shipowner RCCL announced that after a drydock refurb in March-April 2016, Pullmantur Empress will be transferred back to the RCI fleet.

The 1600-passenger ship Empress OTS is attractive to travelers who prefer onboard relaxation instead of action-themed activities.

According to the company's annual statistics, in 2022 Cordelia served ~130,000 tourists on the West Coast India circuit and ~70,000 from the East Coast India circuit.

In August 2024, Cordelia announced plans for a fleet expansion with two more ships - the first in 2025 (planned itineraries between Dubai and Mumbai) and the second in 2026 (planned longer itineraries between India and Australia leaving from Mumbai). The Australian cruises will visit Goa and Kochi, then ports in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia/Sydney NSW.

Also in August 2024, Cordelia signed a partnership with WMS sro () to provide onboard cellular services for the Cordelia Empress. WMS's advanced cellular technology provides seamless connectivity at sea by using an extensive network of 400+ global roaming providers.

Decks and Cabins

Empress Of The Seas staterooms (a total of 796) are in 15 categories and include 329x Inside, 69x Balconies, 425 Oceanviews and only 6x Balcony Suites. The largest accommodation is the Royal Suite (590 ft2 / 55 m2, with a terrace sized 290 ft2 / 27 m2).

The boat has 11 decks, of which 9 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Cordelia Empress has a 392-seat Lido Buffet Restaurant, the 56-seat Wu Fusion Restaurant (also offering a wide range of cocktails and exotic Far East dishes) and the 476-seat Miramar Restaurant (a la carte priced).

The ship's 1004-seat Main Dining Room (MDR) is an aft-located (on Deck 4) complimentary restaurant open for Breakfast (7-9.30 am), Brasserie 30 Lunch (12-noon - 2 pm /on sea days only) and Dinner (with 2 fixed seatings - at 6:30 or 9 pm). Chops Grille (RCI's signature steakhouse-seafood restaurant) is open between 5:30-9:30 pm and at surcharge (per person). Chops Grille's open kitchen allows guests to watch their food being prepared.

Follows the complete list of Empress Of The Seas restaurants and food bars.

• Main Dining Room (1004-seat, aft-located complimentary restaurant)
• Windjammer Cafe buffet restaurant (580-seat, offers Early Breakfast at 6:30 am, Breakfast between 7-11:30 am, Lunch 11:30-3:30 pm and Dinner 6.30-9 pm)
• Chops Grille (steakhouse/seafood)

Next official video is the Empress ship review in English.

Next official video is the same ship review in Tamil.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Leisure facilities on Cordelia Empress included a fitness center, sauna, Jacuzzis, rock climbing wall and two pools. Production and comedy shows were presented in the Broadway Show Lounge with music, dancing, and cabaret. Other amusements were the two-level aft nightclub and Casino.

The boat has new swimming pools and whirlpools, a rock-climbing wall, an adults-only Solarium, and the signature steakhouse Chops Grille.

Follows the complete list of Empress Of The Seas lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Royal Theater (740-seat, features 3D Movies, aerial acrobatic performances, and Broadway-style productions)
• Centrum (7-floors-high Atrium area)
• Schooner Bar (138-seat piano bar for live music, trivia games and classy cocktails)
• Viking Crown Lounge (268-seat, with panoramic windows; becomes a disco club nightly)
• Boleros Lounge (317-seat Latin-themed bar and nightclub)
• Royal Shops and Boutiques (duty-free shops)
• Focus Photo Gallery and Shop; Picture This portrait studio; Card Room; Library
• RC Online (24-hour Internet computer center)
• Casino Royale
• Vitality at Sea Spa and ShipShape Fitness Center
• Challenger's Video Games Arcade; Adventure Ocean kids lounge area
• Pool area (2 pools, 3 whirlpools, poolside bar, sunbathing area)
• Rock-Climbing Wall

Cordelia Cruises Empress ship is marketed as "India's first premium cruise liner". Voyages are themed on India's food, culture and traditions. Cordelia's cruise ship targets mainly the domestic source market.

Cordelia Cruises offers several new shipboard dining options - including an in-house oriental restaurant (dishes from Japan to Thailand), Mughlai cuisine (dishes from the medieval Indo-Persian Mughal Empire), Indian street foods, several food stations (tandoor/tannour, grills, pizzas, pasta, Jain cuisine/Lacto vegetarian), in addition to various desserts (confectionery and sweets).

Cordelia's shipboard adult entertainment options include two Nightclubs, Casino Nights, 5 themed bar lounges.

Cordelia itineraries

For Cordelia Cruises, Empress ship's inaugural season (2021) had scheduled 2- to 7-night long itineraries visiting Sri Lanka (Colombo), Maldives Islands (Male), also ports in India (Chennai-Madras, Mormugao-Goa, Mumbai).

All bookings for voyages in June-July 2021 received kids-sail-free promos (for children up to 12 years of age) traveling with two full-paying adults.

• The Maiden Voyage was initially scheduled to depart on June 5, 2021 (7-night Mumbai roundtrip around India and Sri Lanka).
• In mid-March 2021, Cordelia listed on its website an inaugural cruise leaving on May 7th from Mumbai (3-night roundtrip visiting Mormugao-Goa). However, due to India's increasing COVID cases, the brand's inauguration was rescheduled for September 2 (repositioning from Dubai to Mumbai) with call ports Muscat Oman, Mormugao-Goa, Lakshadweep (Bangaram Island), Diu Island, Cochin/Kochi, Colombo Sri Lanka.
• And finally, the Maiden Voyage for Cordelia departed on September 16, 2021, out of Mumbai.

Since January 2023, Cordelia offers two new itineraries - 4-night (between Mumbai and Lakshadweep) and 3-night (between Mumbai and Mormugao-Goa). East Coast India voyages are 2-3-4-5-nights in length and some also visit Lakshadweep-Bangaram and Cochin.

In 2023, Cordelia started East Coast India voyages. The program was based on homeporting in Chennai (started on June 5th) and ran during summer (June through September). The 5-night package included visits to Sri Lanka's Hambantota and Trincomalee. After that, the Empress ship relocated back to Mumbai for the West Coast India voyages.

Starting in June 2024, Cordelia offers itineraries to Western Asian ports. The 3-4-5-7-night packages (roundtrips from Mumbai) cost between INR 11-13000 (US$133-157) per person per day.

In the future, Cordelia plans to explore other ports such as Kolkata, Port Blair (South Andaman Island), Diu Island, New Mangalore, and Porbandar, depending on the availability of infrastructure.

Empress of the Seas itineraries (Royal Caribbean)

Since March 2016, Empress OTS itinerary program was based on homeporting in PortMiami, from where were offered 4-5-6-7-8-day roundtrips to Eastern and Western Caribbean ports.

• For winter 2017-2018, the ship visited Bahamas (CocoCay and Nassau). For summer 2018, from homeport Tampa Florida were offered 4- and 5-day roundtrips to Key West FL and Mexico (Costa Maya, Cozumel), also including Havana Cuba (on most itineraries).
• On December 1, 2017, RCI-Royal Caribbean added 2 new Cuban ports (Santiago and Cienfuegos) in the Empress OTS' 4- to 8-night Caribbean itineraries. Depending on length (6-7-8-day), the new "Best of Cuba" itinerary from Miami visited Cienfuegos, Havana (overnight), Santiago de Cuba, Key West Florida, Grand Cayman Island, Labadee Haiti (private island destination).

Following the US Government's June 2019-issued ban on group travel to Cuba from the USA, Empress OTS' itinerary program was revised. In all PortMiami roundtrips, the Cuban ports were replaced with San Juan Puerto Rico, Road Town (Tortola BVI) and Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas USVI).

For season 2020 were added new itineraries from PortMiami visiting Spanish Town (Virgin Gorda BVI) - a new for RCI Caribbean destination. The new 6- to 8-day Eastern-Western Caribbean program also visited ports in The Bahamas (including CocoCay on select voyages), Mexico, Belize.

From homeport NYC/Cape Liberty New Jersey (starting May 2020) and Montreal Canada, Empress OTS was scheduled to operate "Canada and New England Cruise" (10-11-12-day roundtrips to ports in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland) and NYC to Bermuda voyages (with overnights in St George's and Hamilton). The Caribbean deployment from Miami was originally planned for the period October 2020 through April 2021.