The Italian flagged cruise ship Costa Serena has become the first cruise vessel to call in Vietnam in 2026, marking a symbolic and commercially important start to the year for the country’s coastal tourism hubs. Its early January arrival in the central beach city of Nha Trang has been hailed by officials and industry executives as a strong signal of renewed international interest in Vietnam’s cruise offerings after several years of uneven recovery.

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Costa Serena’s New Year Call Sets Tone for 2026 Cruise Season

Costa Serena arrived in Nha Trang Bay on January 4, carrying close to 3,000 mainly European passengers on a 14 night itinerary across East and Southeast Asia. Tenders ferried guests from the anchorage to the Ana Marina International Yacht Harbor, where local authorities and tourism operators staged a formal welcome and transferred passengers on to organized shore excursions across Khanh Hoa Province.

The visit is not only the first cruise call of the year at Nha Trang but, according to provincial and industry data, the first international cruise ship visit to Vietnam in 2026. For a destination that has been working to rebuild its cruise segment since the pandemic, the timing is important. The call comes in the crucial period leading up to the Lunar New Year holidays, when many coastal cities are looking to maximize international arrivals and showcase upgraded infrastructure.

Officials from the Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism described the early year call as a positive sign for the regional cruise market. They said Costa Serena’s arrival reflects both renewed confidence from global cruise brands and the growing visibility of Nha Trang and the wider central coast as a sophisticated, full service port of call that can handle large, international ships.

Nha Trang’s Cruise Comeback After Port Upgrades

The Costa Serena call caps more than a year of work to restore and enhance Nha Trang’s position on regional cruise maps. Nha Trang Port temporarily stopped taking international passenger ships in late 2024 due to deterioration and renovation works. During that period, authorities and private investors focused on repositioning Ana Marina and other facilities as primary gateways for high value cruise tourism.

Costa Serena’s December 7, 2025 inaugural arrival at Nha Trang following the renovation was the first major test of the new arrangements. That visit brought around 2,700 passengers to the bay and was widely seen by local officials as a rehearsal for a busier 2025–2026 winter season. Feedback from that first call, particularly about passenger handling, excursion logistics and hospitality standards, helped shape preparations for the January 4 return.

By the time the vessel sailed back into Nha Trang at the start of 2026, the local tourism sector had refined everything from tender operations to traffic management at Ana Marina. Shore tours and on the ground experiences were expanded to include a wider range of cultural, spiritual and lifestyle stops, reinforcing the message that Nha Trang can rival more established Asian cruise destinations in both efficiency and content.

From Hong Kong to Singapore: A Regional Itinerary With Vietnam at the Center

The New Year visit forms part of a 14 night open jaw cruise that departed Hong Kong on December 19, 2025 and is scheduled to conclude in Singapore. The itinerary circles some of Asia’s most competitive cruise markets, calling at ports in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand before and after its stop in Vietnam.

Positioning Nha Trang as a key highlight on such a multi country route is significant for Vietnam. It places the city alongside more established cruise ports in Northeast and Southeast Asia and exposes first time visitors from Europe and other long haul markets to Vietnam’s coastline at a time when the industry is actively trying to diversify beyond traditional land based tours.

Industry observers note that itineraries like Costa Serena’s also support Vietnam’s wider strategy of creating multi stop cruise circuits along its own coast. After Nha Trang, the ship is scheduled to continue south toward Phu My Port near Ho Chi Minh City, extending passenger spending and exposure to other regions and potentially paving the way for more north south cruise products that include Ha Long Bay and central Vietnam in the same journey.

Inside the Passenger Experience in Nha Trang

On shore, the Costa Serena call translated into thousands of day trippers fanning out across Nha Trang and nearby attractions. Tour programs organized by local operators highlighted several of Khanh Hoa’s most recognizable cultural and religious sites, including Long Son Pagoda, the Ponagar Cham Towers and the historic Nha Trang Cathedral.

Visitors were also offered wellness oriented excursions to I Resort hot spring park and seaside leisure time around Nha Trang Beach Park, Skylight Bar, Champa Island and the central square and Tram Huong Tower area. For many passengers, guided cyclo rides through the city streets provided one of the most memorable experiences, combining heritage transport with informal interaction with local drivers and vendors.

Retailers and small businesses benefited as well. Markets including the busy Dam Market reported heightened activity during the call as passengers browsed for handicrafts, clothing and street food. With more calls expected in the coming weeks, traders are beginning to adjust stock, signage and even basic English language offerings to better accommodate the influx of short stay cruise customers.

Officials See Strong Early Momentum for 2026

Provincial authorities have framed Costa Serena’s arrival as part of a broader upswing. Based on schedules registered with local ports and tour operators, Khanh Hoa expects eight cruise calls in the first two months of 2026, carrying an estimated 13,500 passengers. Many of those vessels will also be medium and large capacity ships operated by global cruise brands.

Officials argue that this cluster of early season arrivals is a clear sign that Vietnam’s cruise product is entering a more stable phase after post pandemic volatility. They point to improved visa policies, upgraded port facilities and more proactive marketing by both the national tourism authority and regional departments as contributing factors.

At the same time, local planners acknowledge that infrastructure and service standards will need to keep pace with rising volumes. Crowd control at popular temples and viewpoints, coordination between port authorities and city traffic managers, and environmental safeguards around Nha Trang Bay are all being reviewed as part of the province’s cruise development plans for 2026 and beyond.

The symbolism of Costa Serena’s visit is amplified by the vessel’s own recent transformation. Built in 2007, the ship underwent a major refurbishment in China in 2025 as part of a multimillion euro revitalization program across the Costa fleet. Public spaces were redesigned with a contemporary interpretation of its original classical theme, and new specialty restaurants and refreshed cabins were introduced.

Among the additions are an expanded food court concept and venues such as Archipelago, which features menus developed by Michelin starred chefs, as well as updated casual dining options. Public decks and pools have also been reconfigured, catering to changing passenger expectations for flexible social spaces and more varied dining.

For Vietnamese tourism stakeholders, hosting a recently refitted international ship offers a chance to benchmark local services against current global standards. Everything from gangway arrival experiences to onboard marketing of shore excursions is closely observed by local partners, who say these insights help them tailor experiences to modern cruise travelers who may be comparing Vietnam against other sophisticated ports across Asia and Europe.

Vietnam’s Evolving Place on the Asian Cruise Map

The Costa Serena deployment in Asia highlights how cruise lines are rethinking their regional strategies, with Vietnam playing a more central role. After its winter program of 7 to 14 night itineraries across the Far East and Southeast Asia, the ship is expected to continue offering regional cruises into the 2026 summer before repositioning toward South America and later Europe.

Vietnamese destinations are increasingly being woven into these long range plans, both as repeat ports of call and, potentially, as turnaround or partial turnaround ports in the future. While homeporting remains a longer term aspiration, increased frequency of calls by ships like Costa Serena helps build the operational track record, passenger awareness and on shore capacity that cruise lines look for when deciding where to base vessels.

Regional analysts say Vietnam’s mix of natural scenery, cultural depth and relatively uncongested ports gives it a competitive advantage at a time when some traditional cruise hubs are grappling with crowding and regulatory pressures. The challenge, they note, will be to maintain that advantage while scaling up sustainably, especially in delicate marine environments such as Nha Trang Bay and other coastal areas.

Signal Boost for Coastal Cities Beyond Nha Trang

Although the most visible celebrations have been in Nha Trang, Costa Serena’s early year routes are resonating across Vietnam’s other coastal destinations. The ship’s onward journey to Phu My Port near Ho Chi Minh City, and previous visits to Phu Quoc and other southern locales in past seasons, underscore the potential for a networked cruise economy that spreads benefits beyond a single hub.

Local tourism officials in the south see the Nha Trang call as complementary rather than competitive. Each port offers a distinct flavor, with Nha Trang emphasizing beaches and urban coastal life, Phu My connecting passengers to the culture and commerce of Vietnam’s largest metropolis, and island destinations such as Phu Quoc positioning themselves around nature, resorts and duty free shopping.

For travelers, this variety is a key selling point. For Vietnam as a whole, the ability to present multiple, well coordinated ports of call to cruise planners strengthens the case for including the country not just as a one off stop, but as a core component of regional itineraries. The successful handling of Costa Serena’s landmark New Year visit will be closely watched by other lines considering how to shape their Asian deployments through 2026 and beyond.