In 2013, Hong Kong opened a majestic new gateway to the city: the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. With a soaring arch facing the harbor’s eastern entrance, the $1 billion Foster + Partners building vaguely resembles a giant silver catfish with its mouth wide open. Big enough to handle two of the world’s largest passenger ships at once, it’s a bold statement of Hong Kong’s ambitions to become a cruise capital as well as a glistening symbol of Asia’s rise as a new maritime destination.
The next two years will bring unprecedented growth in itineraries and new ports of call in a region rich in seagoing history. Thousands of passengers will discover world-class cities such as Hong Kong and Shanghai along with exotic locales such as Myanmar and the Philippine island of Boracay.
Ports 2.0
Many Asian ports are taking thoroughly modern approaches to attracting cruise traffic, starting with the opening of new and upgraded terminals. Shanghai has built a terminal for ships too large to navigate upriver to the city center. Penang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that flourished in the 19th century as one of the British East India Company’s famed Straits Settlements, has opened Swettenham Pier, providing easy access to some of Asia’s best-preserved colonial-era architecture. And in 2012, Singapore unveiled its Marina Bay Cruise Centre, conveniently adjacent to the casino, shopping and entertainment complex that has become a destination in its own right.
But it isn’t the same in all ports. “Especially in Southeast Asia, the port infrastructure is behind — but the potential is huge,” says Zinan Liu, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ managing director of China and Asia. A part-owner of the Hong Kong terminal, Royal Caribbean sails its Voyager of the Seas from there and Tianjin; its Mariner of the Seas primarily leaves from Shanghai and Singapore.
According to Hong Kong tourism authorities, ship arrivals this year will be 50 percent higher than last — but their goal isn’t to steal cruise business from other regional ports. Cleverly, Asian ports are teaming up to compete against the rest of the world. In February, Hong Kong announced a formal agreement with Taiwan.
Asia’s unique offering, according to Richard Harris, Abercrombie & Kent’s senior vice president of product development and operations, is “an amazing blend of technology and ancient customs.”
One of his favorite ports is Chongqing, on the Yangtze River. An ancient Chinese capital, it is layered with history. In 1891, it became the first inland port in China to welcome foreign traders.
Beyond pulsing megalopolises there are also sleepy fishing towns that are the domain of smaller lines such as the Indonesia-based Tiger Blue, which runs luxurious 10-person expeditions on a traditional wooden boat. A highly anticipated launch is the high-design Aqua Mekong, from the Peru-based Aqua Expeditions; the luxe 40-passenger river ship will call on Sa Dec, Vietnam, and Moat Kla, a fishing village on Cambodia’s great Tonle Sap lake.
The ‘new’ Asia
In 2015, Silversea Cruises will send its Silver Shadow to Bintulu, on Malaysian Borneo, and Coron, an island in the Philippines with spectacular diving that is ringed by turquoise seas. “This is about consumer demand,” says Mike Pawlus, Silversea’s director of strategic itinerary planning. “Our guests today are much more educated about geography.”
Rapid political change is opening up even more possibilities. Quickly becoming a hot destination: Myanmar, a beguiling land of gilded temples, laconic rivers and lush rice paddies. In December, Sanctuary Retreats launches the Sanctuary Ananda, which will be wholly devoted to cruising the country’s rivers. Crystal Cruises will make a maiden voyage there this year, too, as will three of Silversea’s ships.
Occasionally, these emerging destinations can present unexpected operational wrinkles. In January, when Voyages of Discovery’s MV Voyager called on Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, the harbormaster told the ship to dock on the port side. Problem is, while the starboard has two gangways, the port side has only one, which meant that they’d lose gangway access as soon as the tide went out a few hours later. No amount of negotiation could convince the harbormaster to change his mind — he wanted a bribe — so Captain Neil Broomhall and his crew spent the day ferrying passengers to and from shore on tenders.
In ship shape
The aggressive allocation of ships to Asia also represents a huge bet on the as-yet untapped market for passengers coming from within the region. Even pessimistic forecasts estimate the size of the Asian cruise market to be 4 million passengers per year by 2020, and for many of these travelers, the ship itself is the ultimate destination. “It is an aspirational experience,” says Liu of Royal Caribbean, which has seen Chinese passenger traffic double in each of the past four years.
But even for an experienced traveler like Edie Bornstein, president of Crystal Cruises, there’s something incomparable about cruising in Asia. She always cruises on vacations — of course. Last year, she chose a 14-night Crystal voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore. While the ship was docked in Bangkok, she and some of the other passengers opted for an overnight shore excursion to neighboring Cambodia. The crowning experience? An unforgettable five hours exploring the storied ancient temples of Angkor Wat.