While there are no lack of appealing Asian destinations, port infrastructure is stopping cruise lines from featuring a wider range of itineraries. 

From top left: Inle Lake, Myanmar; Fukuoka, Japan; Jeju, South Korea;

Redang, Malaysia; Yangon, Myanmar; New Delhi, India

Royal Caribbean International 

Kelvin Tan, regional director, 
Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises  

Voyager of the Seas

Which is the most desirable port of call in Asia? 

There are many desirable and attractive ports in Asia. Just to name a few, based on our guest ratings, popular destinations in North Asia include Jeju, Kagoshima, Kobe and Okinawa, while in South-east Asia, Halong Bay, Danang, Phuket, Bali and Penang.

Most of these destinations offer great port and tourism infrastructure, as well as impressive cultural, historical and scenic attractions and shopping and gastronomic experiences. 

Which is the most challenging port of call in Asia?

Some cities have great tourism appeal but their lack of port infrastructure, such as a cruise terminal located in or near these destinations, have prevented our ships from calling. Seoul, Bangkok and Hanoi are examples.

If you had your way, where is your next port of call in Asia?

Boracay, Palawan, Yangon and Sandakan are interesting, exotic destinations with a rich variety of historical, cultural and scenic attractions for our guests. We have yet to feature them due to their lack of port infrastructure.

What are you looking for in a potential port of call? 

Correct and adequate infrastructure that can support over 3,000 guests and 1,200 crew at the same time. Other important factors to consider are visa policies and immigration procedures. 

Silversea 

Melvyn Yap, regional director, Asia, Silversea

Silver Whisper

Which is the most desirable port of call in Asia? 

For turnaround ports, i.e. Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok and Shanghai, we desire good air connectivity to the rest of the world.

For ports of call, there should be decent infrastructure to support the berthing of a cruise vessel and enough attractions nearby. There should also be a convenient transportation network. 

Taking into consideration of the above factors, berthing in Singapore and Hong Kong are equally desirable. 

Which is the most challenging port of call in Asia?

Ports in India are the most difficult as the immigration, customs, port operators, the tourism board, etc, do not seem to communicate with each other.   

If you had your way, where is your next port of call in Asia?

We made port calls in Myanmar in the past, but had to stop due to political reasons. We hope to return to Myanmar, as it is a beautiful country.

There are also many wonderful islands in Japan, but it is a case of too many destinations and too little time. As much as we would want to squeeze everything into an itinerary, our Asian clients have short vacation durations.  

What are you looking for in a potential port of call? 

As Silversea operates smaller cruise vessels, there are not as many prerequisites as a big ship would need. Having said that, it is important to have good port infrastructure, so that our guests are allowed to go through usually restricted port areas without hassle.

Our guests also appreciate if we can run our own complimentary shuttle buses to town, such as in Phuket and Jakarta, where these were not permitted. Our guests had to take local taxis that charged high prices. 

Costa Cruises

Buhdy Bok, vice president, Pacific Asia and China, Costa Cruises

Costa Victoria

Which is the most desirable port of call in Asia? 

Asia is such a diverse region that there are many ports that we can define as most desirable. 

For nice beaches, there are Kagoshima, Wakayama, Langkawi, Kuantan, Penang, Malacca and Sanya. For cultural experiences, Penang and Fukuoka are prime choices. Costa Victoria offers itineraries from four to seven nights to these destinations. 

Which is the most challenging port of call in Asia?

There isn’t a port of call in Asia that we consider challenging. However, we value ports that allow our ships to berth without too much navigational difficulty, and have a terminal that is functionally efficient and with a good land transportation network. 

Costa’s presence in Asia is growing bigger each year, and we face infrastructure restrictions that prevent us from calling at some ports that can handle only smaller ships. We encourage expansion among terminals to accommodate bigger and better ships. 

If you had your way, where is your next port of call in Asia?

We are always exploring new ports as well as seasonal destinations. For example, Yeosu, which is currently hosting the 2012 World Expo; the tropical paradise of Hososhima/Miyazaki; Osaka; Wakayama; and the Kanto region.

We would also love to explore more destinations, such as Bali and the Komodo Island in the near future. 

The only limitation to Costa’s expansion is port infrastructure, and we will continue to extend our itineraries as and when ports address size and capacity issues. 

What are you looking for in a potential port of call? 

Our concerns are infrastructure, accessibility, proximity and popularity of destinations.

Star Cruises

Michael Goh, senior vice president, sales, Star Cruises

SuperStar Virgo

Which is the most desirable port of call in Asia? 

Popular Asian hotspots include Redang, Penang, Langkawi, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Koh Samui, Bangkok and Krabi. These exotic destinations have a fascinating blend of culture, history and adventure. 

Redang is an all-time favourite, made famous by the Hong Kong movie Summer Holiday. It has pristine beaches for diving and a colourful underwater life for snorkelling. 

Which is the most challenging port of call in Asia?

Although Redang is popular among both local and overseas passengers, SuperStar Virgo can only call at this port in the summer from April to September each year due to the north-east monsoon season.

If you had your way, where is your next port of call in Asia?

No answer given.

What are you looking for in a potential port of call? 

Factors are key tourist attractions, good infrastructure, extensive air, sea and land connectivity, and great convenience based on visa exemption for international guests. For example, Malaysian ports practise 72-hour visa-free policy for some nationalities.

This article was first published in TTG Asia, June 29, 2012 issue, on page 8. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.