Waterways Leisure Tourism opens cruise IPO subscription in India

IPO opens with a weak start

Waterways Leisure Tourism opened its initial public offering for subscription on June 23, bringing the Cordelia Cruises operator to the market with a fresh issue of up to Rs 585 crore.

The company has set a price band of Rs 769-808 per share. The subscription window is scheduled to close on June 25, and the minimum bid lot is 18 shares.

Early market reports pointed to a slow opening day. By midday, the issue was about 7% subscribed overall, according to the reports.

Retail demand was stronger than the headline figure suggested, with retail investors subscribing about 34% of their portion. Institutional interest was weaker in the early reading.

What the company is raising

The offer is a fresh issue only, with no offer-for-sale component. Earlier reporting said Waterways Leisure Tourism had originally filed its draft prospectus in June 2025 seeking to raise Rs 727 crore.

Coverage around the offer said the company plans to use the proceeds for subsidiary lease payments and general corporate purposes.

Earlier reporting also said the promoter group's stake would fall from 99.3% to 89.3% after the IPO.

Business and investor context

Waterways Leisure Tourism operates the Cordelia Cruises brand, which earlier coverage described as India’s largest cruise operator. The IPO gives investors access to a niche consumer travel business tied to discretionary spending and tourism demand.

That exposure also brings execution risk. Earlier coverage flagged the company's dependence on Mumbai traffic, noting that around two-thirds of passengers come from that market.

For investors, the early response matters because it is the first signal of appetite for the issue, but it is not the final one. Subscription levels can change materially before the book closes on June 25.

What to watch next

The next readout will be the final subscription tally at the end of the offer period. That number will show whether the weak early Day 1 response improved as more investors entered the book.

Market participants will also watch for any exchange or company updates on the issue's completion, allocation process and eventual listing timeline.

For now, the IPO has opened with a mixed start: retail interest is visible, but overall demand remains subdued early in the bidding window.