New cruise terminal awaits bigger ships

Marina Bay ICT boasts bigger, deeper docks and will double number of berths here
Ng Kai Ling Straits Times 5 Mar 12;

BIGGER ocean liners will be cruising into Singapore with the opening of the International Cruise Terminal (ICT) at Marina Bay, which has bigger and deeper harbour berths.

At least three ocean liners will be dropping anchor here when the terminal is completed in the second quarter of this year, bringing with them thousands of passengers in and out of Singapore.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, with a passenger capacity of about 3,800, will be making its way here from Dubai in May. Next in the line will be cruise operator Celebrity, which is making its Asian debut. Celebrity Solstice will sail into Singapore in November, and Celebrity Millennium in December. They have a capacity of 2,850 and 2,034 respectively.

From here, the Voyager will make is way to Shanghai with stops in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Xiamen. The Solstice will head to Sydney while the Millennium will go to Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the existing HarbourFront Cruise Terminal will also welcome eight new ships, including Costa Victoria and Azamara Journey, with a total of about 8,000 passengers, which will port here for the first time this year.

The opening of the ICT will give cruise line operators more options as it is able to accommodate bigger ships, said Ms Chin Ying Duan, spokesman for Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) which also represents the Celebrity and Azamara brands.

Currently, the HarbourFront Cruise Terminal can take only ships no taller than 52m. Ships exceeding 270m long are also too big for its two berths.

The Voyager of the Seas, for example, is 311m long, 63m tall. In the past, similar sized ships, such as Cunard's luxurious Queen Victoria, had to dock at the less glamorous Pasir Panjang Container Terminal, located about 5km away from the HarbourFront terminal. This is not ideal, said cruise operators, as the container port lacks proper customs facilities and passengers have to take shuttle buses just to get out of the terminal.

When open, the $500-million ICT will double the number of berths here to four. It will be operated by the consortium of SATS Ltd and Spanish terminal operator Creuez.

Industry players say the opening of the new terminal will attract more ships to Singapore and lift the sinking numbers in cruise travel.

In 2009, 928 ship calls were made here bringing more than 1.1 million passengers in and out of Singapore. The numbers dropped to 393 and 942,000 respectively last year. The decline is mainly due to the closing of three gaming ships which made frequent trips in and out of Singapore.

Beyond just bringing more tourists to Singapore, there are also spillover effects for local businesses, for example, those providing port services and ship maintenance.

Already, travel agents are seeing stronger demand for their cruise packages with some reporting a 30 per cent increase in sales at the recent National Association of Travel Agents (Natas) travel fair.

Ms Jane Chang, marketing communications manager at Chan Brothers Travel, said: 'Currently, Singaporeans have the options of regional cruises or fly-cruises, but with the new terminal and its ability to host bigger ships for long-haul journeys, consumer choices will be expanded significantly.'

Ms Alicia Seah, CTC Travel's senior vice-president of marketing and public relations, added: 'We are already seeing interest especially from markets such as South Korea, China, the Philippines and Europe to fly into Singapore and then ply the cruise liners' tour itineraries.'