Asian persuasion
New ships, new ports and new destinations are fuelling demand for adventures in Asia.
The continental drift of cruise ships towards Asia is inexorable, spurred by a boom in Asian passengers. More than two million
Asian travellers – almost half of them Chinese – holidayed on cruise ships in 2015, according to Cruise Lines International Association. And the number of cruises on offer in Asia is rising in sync: 1560 Asian sailings departed in 2016, a whopping increase of 43 per cent on the previous year. In response, Silversea has launched a Chinese-language website for its new flagship, Silver Muse.
China, Japan and South Korea are the most-visited countries; South Korea’s Jeju Island is the most-visited single port, with Shanghai and Singapore not far behind. Meanwhile, Australian company Coral Expeditions launched new South East Asian small-ship itineraries in 2016, and Asia-based Dream Cruises began promoting its new 3,352-passenger Genting Dream to Australians, with five-night itineraries from Hong Kong visiting Vietnam’s Da Nang and Halong Bay.
Princess Cruises has made Asian cruising easier for Australians with its decision to use the Australian rather than the American dollar as the on-board currency on some of its cruises between Australia and Singapore or Japan, and has seen interest in its new Japan cruises blossom. “Australians are a key market for Princess in Japan,” says Stuart Allison, Princess Cruises’ vice-president for Australia and New Zealand. “We find they’re very interested in exploring a destination and understanding its culture, and they like our Japanese experience on Diamond Princess, too, with a Japanese bathhouse, sushi restaurant and local entertainment [on board].”
Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line and Ponant are signalling an increased Asian presence. Tall-ship specialist Star Clippers, which débuted recently in Thai and Malaysian waters, sails into Indonesian waters for the first time in May and has departures from Bali to Indonesian islands through to October. Next year Silversea sends three of its ships on five new voyages in the Philippines, while its expeditionary Silver Discoverer heads to new ports in South East Asia and Japan.