SINGAPORE welcomed the largest ship to homeport in Asia over the weekend, when Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Mariner of the Seas made its maiden call at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Saturday.
This marked the start of the 3,807-pax Mariner of the Seas’ Asian season in Singapore with three cruises of three to 10 nights to Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Shanghai.
The ship also replaces the 2,076-pax Legend of the Seas, which completed her Asian deployment in April (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 14, 2012).
Jennifer Yap, managing director, RCI (Singapore), said: “There is tremendous potential in the Asia market because the penetration rate for Asia is the lowest compared to Europe and North America.”
“If you see the Asian market as a whole, it is still in its infancy because a large majority (of Asians) have yet to board a cruise ship before. So by establishing greater presence in Asia, we aim to attract all these passengers onboard.”
Asians comprise 10 per cent of the cruise line’s passengers, with about 200,000 customers a year, with China and Singapore being the strongest regional source markets.
Mariner of the Seas offers a variety of Asian cuisine and visual entertainment programmes like acrobatic performances.
Unique onboard amenities and programmes include the 900-seat ice-skating rink, a full-sized sports court, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall, mini-golf course, three-tier theatre, themed bars and lounges as well as a mezzanine split level nightclub. The DreamWorks parade stars characters from popular cartoons Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, with whom cruisers can interact.
From November 2013 to March 2014, Mariner of the Seas will return again to Singapore to offer a series of South-east Asian cruises.
