All aboard! Cruises expected to grow into one of top vacation options for Singaporeans

On Friday, Dream Cruises by Genting Hong Kong, which also owns Star Cruises, launched its first vessel Genting Dream, touted as the first cruise ship to be built from scratch to cater to the Asian luxury market.

Among other attractions, it will host China's Got Talent - The Dream Experience.

It is a 45-minute theatrical representation of the hit television series, and will feature the fifth season judges Vicki Zhao Wei, Liu Ye, Alec Su You Peng and Wang Wei Chung.

And for the first time, clubbers get to experience Zouk nightlife at sea, with an indoor dance club, a sports bar with billiards, a four-lane glow-in-the-dark bowling alley and an outdoor day and night party deck.

Last year, Singapore was the most visited port in Asia, but this year, it dropped to the third place with 391 scheduled calls.

South Korea's Jeju Island and China's Baoshan, Shanghai, surpass Singapore with 460 and 437 calls scheduled.

Nonetheless, in February, the Singapore Tourism Board highlighted the cruise industry as a key growth area.

The number of cruise passengers passing through Singapore has risen by 14 per cent year-on-year to 1 million people.

The mixed outlook for Singapore's cruise industry does not deter some cruise operators from launching and homeporting new ships here this year and next year.

International cruise line Royal Caribbean has seen an average of 10 per cent growth in guest numbers on Singapore sailings every year since the cruise line started its regular homeporting seasons here in 2007.

It is expecting a stronger growth of 20 per cent this year and even 30 per cent next year, driven by longer seasons and larger ships.

In June, it deployed a brand new ship, the Ovation of the Seas, to Asia for homeporting in Singapore from March next year.

The US$1 billion (S$1.38 billion) ship, which took 18 months to build, can accommodate 4,905 guests in 2,090 staterooms.

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BIONIC BAR

It offers smart frills such as the Bionic Bar, where robotic hands mix and serve drinks in just a minute.

Its top deck houses a glass capsule called North Star that rises nearly 100m above sea level and rotates out over the sides of the ship to provide 360-degree views.

Since its 2017 March-April Singapore season opened for sale in June, it is almost 50 per cent booked, says its spokesman.

Doing particularly well are the school holiday sailings on March 11 and March 15, as well as a 12-night Singapore-Tianjin one-way cruise in April.

Says Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) head of sales Mona Foo: "There is plenty onboard for guests of all ages to enjoy. More locals are becoming aware of the great value-for-money highly inclusive packages and unbeatable convenience of unpacking only once on a trip to multiple destinations.

"We believe that it's a matter of time before cruising becomes one of the top vacation options among Singaporeans."

Passenger capacity in Asia is expected to grow by 39 per cent year-on-year from 2016 to 2017, surpassing the current 3 million passenger record for the first time, says Mr Farriek Tawfik, quoting a Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

The Princess Cruises' director of Southeast Asia says: "Cruising is becoming an ideal first choice, rather than an alternative vacation option.

"A booming consumer market and rise of the affluent group continue to drive demand for cruise travel in this region."

His company is deploying the Diamond Princess here from this month to March next year.

"We saw high customer satisfaction for our first two homeporting seasons in Singapore, and are excited to be deploying in Southeast Asia for a third season," he said.

Among the ship's features is the Izumi Japanese bath - the largest Japanese bath at sea - and the Kai sushi bar. "Japanese experiences have always been a perennial favourite for guests in Singapore," he adds.

More Asians taking cruises

The Asia Cruise Trends 2016 report shows that more Asians are taking cruise vacations, with the number of passengers growing from 775,000 to nearly 2.1 million between 2012 and last year - a 39 per cent compound annual growth rate.

The study, which was commissioned by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) - the world's largest cruise industry trade association - aims to further develop an in-depth understanding of the quickly evolving cruise marketplace.

CHINA

The report, which was released in August, found that about one in two cruise passengers from Asia in 2015 were from mainland China.

This adds 770,000 more cruise travellers since 2012, a 66 per cent compound annual growth rate.

It also found that more ships have been deployed at a 12 per cent compound annual growth rate, which sees passenger capacity in Asia growing 29.3 per cent annually between 2013 and 2016.

The report shows that the number of calls at Asian ports rose to 5,570 this year - a 43 per cent increase in absolute volume from last year's 3,896 calls and almost doubling port calls in 2013.

Singapore is expected to see 17 more port calls this year, while Japan, China and South Korea will see 880, 550 and 368 additional calls respectively.

As much as 84 per cent of the 391 calls in Singapore are turnaround calls, says the report.

It also found that the number of cruise ships calling here are growing at a slower pace. It grew 15 per cent from 2013 to 2014, 12 per cent from 2014 to 2015 and just five per cent from last year to this year.

In 2015, more than 183,000 individuals from Singapore took a cruise vacation, a contraction of one per cent annually since 2012.

Other findings show that 85 per cent of 183,000 individuals from Singapore who took a cruise vacation last year chose regional cruises within Asia.

A majority - 98 per cent - selected a contemporary cruise line, with the average length of cruise at 4.4 nights - shorter than the overall Asian average.

The average age of the cruise passenger was 46 years old.

Read also: World's largest cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, sets sail on first sea trial

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He enjoys the freedom

An avid fan of cruise holidays, Mr Andy Tan has gone on two to three cruises a year since 2008.

Mr Tan, a self-employed 44-year-old, would take his wife and 15-year-old son on family trips to regional destinations, such as Penang, Phuket and Langkawi, spending about $3,000 to $4,000 each time.

He says: "I used to fly to a lot of countries. I find it very rushed. I had to wake up very early for breakfast and rush to another sightseeing destination on a coach. And it often ends late at night.

"A cruise is different. The room is in the ship anyway."

He loves the freedom that he gets.

"It is more relaxing and you can choose what you want to do," says Mr Tan.

His favourite activity?

"I just relax and enjoy the ship. I'll sit down, have a cup of coffee and chit-chat."

His teenage son would take part in activities onboard that are targeted at teens.

chaihyn@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on November 6, 2016.
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