US cruise liner taps into growing Southeast Asian market

US-based Princess Cruises, the world's third largest cruise line, launched its first Singapore-based service on Thursday in a move to tap into the emerging Southeast Asian cruise travel market.
Industry players said a fast-rising middle class, which has fuelled a boom in budget air travel, is also likely to drive demand in the region's fledgling cruise market.
More than 2,500 guests were due to depart from the city-state Thursday evening aboard the 116,000-tonne Sapphire Princess for an 11-day voyage that will take them to Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand before returning, company officials said.
About 30 percent of the passengers on the trip are Asians, said Farriek Tawfik, Southeast Asia director at Princess Cruises, which is part of the world's largest cruise group, Carnival Corporation.
The 18-storey luxury ship, stretching nearly the length of three football fields, will be based in Singapore until March next year, expecting to carry 40,000 passengers on voyages lasting from three to 17 days.
Princess Cruises said it will return for a second homeporting season later next year.
Cruise travel is still in its "infancy" in Southeast Asia partly because of "misconceptions" that such trips are boring and concerns over seasickness, Tawfik told reporters.
But "the potential for growth is vibrant and exciting in this region," said Tawfik.
Several other cruise liners have operations in Singapore, including Star, Costa, Cunard and Royal Caribbean.
The Cruise Liners International Association said in a report last week that the 52 vessels operating in Asia have the potential to carry 2.17 million passengers next year, up from 1.81 million this year.