Princess Cruises Celebrates Its First Homeporting Season in Singapore

The Sapphire Princess will set sail this evening from the Marina Bay Cruise Centre with a full capacity for an 11-day roundtrip voyage around Southeast Asia, calling at Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand before returning to Singapore.

Princess Cruises' Inaugural Homeporting Season in Southeast Asia

The largest deployment ever by a premium cruise line in Southeast Asia, Princess Cruises' homeporting season will call at nine countries and 21 ports over a wide range of cruise lengths ranging from three to 16 days. Princess Cruises has created a travel program featuring a total of 25 itineraries across 16 roundtrip departures, offering more destinations from Singapore than on any other cruise line. This program has been designed specifically for the diverse travel market in Southeast Asia and to provide passengers with an extensive variety of vacation experiences.

The local economic impact from the Singapore-based deployment is estimated to be nearly SGD$50 million. This includes passenger and crew spending in each port, travel agent commissions and marketing costs.

Extension of Second Homeporting Season in Southeast Asia

Based on the overwhelming response from the regional and international cruise market to its inaugural homeporting season, Princess Cruises will launch its second homeporting season in Singapore next year.

Collaborating closely with key stakeholders such as travel agencies, tourism authorities, and cruise associations, Princess Cruises aims to expand the regional cruise market and boost tourism in Southeast Asia by drawing 40,000 travelers from Asia and around the world.

Singapore is a key hub for cruise activity in the region due to its strategic location in Southeast Asia, strong infrastructure and government support. In 2013, almost 21 million passengers are reported to have cruised from Singapore, up 13 percent from 2012. Cruise passenger traffic at Marina Bay Cruise Centre doubled to 416,000 between April 2013 and March this year, handling close to 110 ship calls. The cruise center recently completed facility enhancements to improve passenger experience at the terminal such as a wider arrival lobby area, a new passenger bridge and more check-in counters.

Princess Cruises 50th Anniversary and Singapore's 50th Birthday

The second homeporting season in Singapore will also coincide with Princess Cruises' 50th Anniversary celebrations and Singapore's 50th birthday next year in 2015. Princess Cruises guests will be able to enjoy fleet-wide festivities on board which include a commemorative food menu, celebratory keepsakes and an exclusive 50th Anniversary micro-brewed beer.

Princess Cruises will also be offering ‘Chocolate Journeys', a new onboard chocolate experience. Guests on board Sapphire Princess will enjoy an array of chocolate offerings including custom-crafted desserts, chocolate and wine pairings created by internationally-acclaimed master chocolatier and pastry designer Norman Love.

Sapphire Princess Onboard Experience

The cruise experience onboard Sapphire Princess will be substantially the same as the Princess Cruises product offered around the world, providing an array of dining and entertainment options in addition to the line's signature innovations such as its popular Movies Under the Stars poolside theater and The Sanctuary, an exclusive top-deck retreat.

Princess Cruises will be catering to the local consumers with customized offerings such as multi-lingual crew members in key guest-facing positions. Dining room menus will include additional offerings that cater to local tastes. Specially designed enrichment programs will be featured and other amenities such as the shopping selection and spa treatments will also be tailored to local preferences.

The 116,000-ton Sapphire Princess carries 2,670 passengers and features a high number of staterooms with private balconies, Lotus Spa, steakhouse, wine bar, patisserie, pizzeria, boutiques, and Internet café among other amenities.

Sapphire Princess Homeporting Season in Singapore

The homeporting season runs for five months through March 2015 and features 16 cruises sailing roundtrip from Singapore which can be combined to form 25 distinct itineraries:

• 11-day Southeast Asia: Departs November 27 and December 18, 2014 with calls at Bandar Seri Begawan (Muara), Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Sihanoukville, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ko Samui.

• 10-day Malaysian Peninsula & Indonesia: Departs December 8 and 29, 2014, and February 28, 2015, visiting Bali (Benoa), Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang), Penang and Phuket.

• 5-day Thailand & Malaysia: Departs February 23, 2015 with calls at Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang), Penang and Phuket.

• 5-day Thailand: Departs January 8, 2015 with visits to Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ko Samui.

• 10-day Indonesia: Departs January 13, 2015 calling at Jakarta, Bali (Benoa, with an overnight), Komodo Island and Lombok.

• 3-day Straits of Malacca: Departs January 23, February 6 and 13, 2015 with calls to Penang and Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang).

• 4-day Malaysia: Departs January 26 and February 9, 2015 calling at Penang, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur (Port Kelang).

• 7-day Vietnam & Thailand: Departs January 30 and February 16, 2015 visiting Ko Samui, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My).

• 17-day Grand Asia: Departs March 24 with calls at Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Busan and Beijing (Tianjin).

Further information about Princess Cruises' roundtrip Singapore cruises is available by calling (65) 6922 6788, or toll- free for Malaysia at 1 800 806656, or by visiting www.princess.com.