Norwegian Sun — currently spending its summer sailing Northern Europe — will make its debut for India’s Cordelia Cruises in November 2027, according to deployment now published on the Indian line’s website and first reported by Cruise Industry News.
For British cruisers, the practical takeaway sits closer to home: both this ship and its older sister Norwegian Sky are now on farewell seasons in and around UK waters, and the clock on sailing either of them is running down.
The plan for the Sun
The 2001-built, 2,000-passenger Sun was acquired by Cordelia in April 2025 together with Norwegian Sky.
After a final Norwegian Cruise Line sailing in September 2027, the renamed Cordelia Sun launches on 1 November 2027 with a four-night maiden voyage roundtrip from Mumbai to Agatti Island in Lakshadweep — the coral archipelago off India’s southwest coast.
A programme of two-to-five-night cruises to Agatti, Mormugao in Goa and Cochin follows, plus two-night cruises to nowhere. Published deployment runs through April 2028, with boarding available at Cochin and Goa on selected departures.
The Sky goes first — and it’s in British waters now
Norwegian Sky leads the transition: the 1999-built ship is operating a farewell British Isles season this summer before handover later this year, becoming Cordelia Sky for Indian sailings from 23 October 2026.
She starts on short cruises from Mumbai, Goa and Cochin before adding Southeast Asia itineraries in mid-2027. Update, 28 July: those sailings are now on sale — full details of the weekly Chennai–Singapore programme here.
The pair will join Cordelia Empress — the former Empress of the Seas, which launched the line’s Mumbai operation in late 2021 — tripling the fleet of India’s only homegrown deep-sea cruise line.
What it means for UK cruisers
Two things. First, the obvious one: anyone with an attachment to these ships — and the Sun and Sky have loyal followings as two of NCL’s last small-to-mid-size, pre-megaship vessels — has limited chances left.
The Sky’s British Isles farewell is under way now; the Sun has one more year of Europe and beyond before its September 2027 send-off.
Second, the bigger picture: this is the well-worn path by which older tonnage flows from Western fleets to emerging cruise markets, and India is the emerging market of the moment — a vast domestic middle class, government investment in cruise terminals, and now a homegrown line growing from one ship to three inside two years.
Don’t be surprised if Indian coastal cruising starts appearing on adventurous British cruisers’ shortlists. A Mumbai–Lakshadweep short cruise bolted onto an India holiday is exactly the kind of thing that becomes bookable through UK agents once capacity exists.
The bottom line
NCL sheds two of its oldest ships — only Norwegian Spirit is older — and sharpens its fleet around newer tonnage; India gains real cruise capacity; and two ships with a quarter-century of service each get a second life in the sun.
If the Sky or Sun carry any of your cruise memories, the farewell seasons — one of them sailing from British ports right now — are the time to say goodbye.
