Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas cruise liner arrived in Singapore for the first time on Saturday (26 May).
The ship, arriving to start its maiden Asian season, became the first liner to call at the new Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS), and was welcomed by more than 100 government officials, company executives, as well as local and regional travel agents and media. Almost 3,000 passengers were onboard.
An official plaque and key ceremony was conducted at the cruise terminal, with exchanges between the ship’s Captain Charles Teige, the Singapore Tourism Board’s Chairman Chew Choon Seng, CEO of the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore Lam Yi Young.
Voyager becomes the third Royal Caribbean ship to be based in Asia, following Rhapsody of the Seas and Legend of the Seas.
Adam Goldstein, Royal Caribbean’s President & CEO said at the ceremony; “Today marks a major milestone for Royal Caribbean in Asia with Voyager of the Seas’ arrival and the start of her maiden Asian season. Deploying a Voyager class ship here, almost twice the size of our two earlier ships, underscores our heightened confidence in the region’s potential and deepened commitment to growing our regional presence. We hope a ship of her size and innovative amenities will once again redefine cruising in Asia and peek further interest in cruising vacations.
“Singapore has always been a key homeport for Royal Caribbean in Asia thanks to her excellent infrastructure, global connectivity and now the new cruise terminal, and we are pleased to have Singapore as the first Asian homeport for Voyager of the Seas. We hope that her arrival will help push for more infrastructure development for larger cruise ships across the region,” he added.
The 14-deck Voyager of the Seas, which has a capacity of 3,840 passengers, features a range of facilities including an ice-skating rink, 3D movie theatre, rock-climbing wall, mini-golf course, three-tier theatre and a nightclub.
The ship will now operate a range of three- to five-night cruises from Singapore to Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, as well as an eight-night cruise to Shanghai that visits Ho Chi Minh City, Xiamen and has an overnight stop in Hong Kong.
While based in China, Voyager will offer five- to seven-night cruises from Shanghai and Tianjin visiting Japanese and Korean destinations such as Fukuoka, Kobe, Okinawa and Jeju from June to October.
