Louis Cruises India, a subsidiary of the Louis Cruises has launched its operations in India with Kochi as its homeport. The launch of Louis Cruises India forms part of Louis Cruises’ strategy for further expanding its international operations by entering and developing new markets, as reported earlier by TravelBiz Monitor. Louis Cruises India will operate three-day and one-day cruises out of the port of Kochi from December 2009 to May 2010 on board MV ‘Aquamarine’, a luxury cruise ship with a carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers. MV ‘Aquamarine’ will offer itineraries on the Kochi – Maldives – Kochi route and the Kochi – Colombo – Kochi route, in addition to a one-night high sea sailing itinerary.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Louis Cruise India and Kerala Tourism with the common goal to market and promote Cruise Tourism out of Kochi. The MoU was signed between M Sivasankar, Director, Kerala Tourism and Oneil Khosa, Managing Director, Louis Cruises India in the presence of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Minister for Home, Vigilance and Tourism, Kerala and N Ramachandran, Chairman, Cochin Port Trust, in Trivandrum.