Hwajing Travel & Tours is partnering with Costa Cruises on a pilot charter service that will see Costa Serena being homeported in Port Klang, Selangor for three special sailings in January 2024.
This will be Costa Serena’s maiden voyage to Malaysia.
Kenny Cheong, managing director of Hwajing Travel & Tours, disclosed at a recent press conference that the inaugural voyage will be a three-day/two-night roundtrip commencing on January 17 from Port Klang, with a stop in Penang.
Subsequently, there will be a four-day/three-night voyage departing from Port Klang on January 19, encompassing Penang and Phuket, and concluding back at Port Klang. The same voyage will be offered on January 22.
Guests onboard Costa Serena will be treated to the Sea Venice Carnival experience, during which guests will “don masks and immerse themselves in an authentic Venetian experience”, shared Cheong.
Hwajing Travel & Tours will be the sole retailer of these special sailings.
Malaysia’s minister of transport, Anthony Loke, who was present at the press conference, expressed the government’s enthusiasm for more international cruise liners to select Port Klang or Penang as their homeport, as cruise passengers tend to spend three times more on shore than regular travellers.
Loke said both Port Klang and Penang make great cruise homeports as their terminals are located close to international airports, allowing them to support fly-cruise tourism.
