Luxury cruise liners chase horizons across Asian seas

By James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters Life!) - Beneath the giant shadow of a towering cruise liner, a mix of elderly European and American tourists stand admiring Hong Kong's iconic harbor.

About to embark on their dream cruise, the group are pioneering what analysts predict will become a hot new travel trend: seeing Asia from the water, with spas, luxury shops, casinos and swimming pools by your side.

"We're spoilt," laughed Donna Dana, an American who flew in from Connecticut with her husband for a 12-day, pan-Asian cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's "Rhapsody of the Seas."

With draws like southern Thailand's idyllic oceans, emerald limestone peaks studding Vietnam's Halong Bay, and famed port cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Hanoi, the industry is predicting a boom in Asian cruising, as tourists look beyond global hotspots like the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

"We find (Asia) interesting and we've done the Caribbean ... I think Asian cruises are extremely hot, there were actually quite a few we looked at that were already sold out," Dana added.

The World Cruise Shipping Industry estimates the number of cruise passengers in Asia will jump 40 percent from 1.07 million in 2005 to 1.5 million in 2010, fuelled in part by Asia's growing affluence and improved flight options to regional port cities.

Given the rosy outlook, mega-vessels like "Rhapsody of the Seas" -- 279 meters long with beds for 2,400 people -- have increasingly plied Asian waters, using places like Singapore and Hong Kong as seasonal homeports.

"We are very pleased with our results, all our sailings out of Singapore are completely sold out, our long cruises out of Hong Kong have sold pretty well," said Rama Rebbapragada, the Asia-Pacific Managing Director for Royal Caribbean Cruises, the world's second largest cruise operator, which owns the Rhapsody.

ASIAN ROYAL TREATMENT

Rebbapragada expects double-digit growth in Asia for the next three years -- quite a turnaround for a region long ranked as a minnow in the North American-dominated global cruising market.

In 2009 his company will bring in a second cruise liner to service China, where six of eight sailings from Shanghai have already been chartered out to Chinese corporate clients.

"We've seen healthy growth in the China market for our cruises now," he said.

"The sheer size of the India and China markets means these are the two markets any supply is going to focus on."

Another major player, Genoa-based cruise operator Costa Crociere already has one seasonally-based vessel posted in Asia, and plans to post a second in the region in 2009.

Star Cruises, Asia's leading cruise operator, run by Malaysia's Genting Group, also plans to boost its Asian fleet.