Singapore’s cruise tourism marks another significant milestone, with the completion of its International Cruise Terminal, officially named Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS)…
(Singapore) – Singapore’s cruise tourism marks another significant milestone, with the completion of its International Cruise Terminal, officially named Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS). Mr S Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office announced the name of the cruise centre after a site inspection of the 2,800 m2 completed terminal today. “The Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS) is a key infrastructure piece of our tourism landscape. Singapore’s cruise passenger arrivals has been rising steadily at an annual compounded growth rate of 3.6% over the last 10 years, reaching about one million passengers in 2011. With MBCCS, more cruise ships will be able to homeport and call on Singapore and Asia. We look forward to welcoming more and bigger cruise ships. Singapore will continue to work with regional governments to develop new cruising itineraries and attract more cruise lines to deploy to this region,” said Minister Iswaran.
The MBCCS can handle 6,800 passengers at any one time. It effectively doubles Singapore’s berth capacity and allows Singapore to cater to the world’s largest cruise ships. The MBCCS will catalyse the growth of the cruise industry help turn Singapore into a gateway to cruising in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Some cruise companies already announced new services out of Singapore. Celebrity Millennium, operated by Celebrity Cruises, will homeport out of Singapore for the first time later this year and is expected to make 10 ship calls during the 2012/2013 season. Costa Cruises will also be deploying a second ship, Costa Atlantica, to join Costa Victoria in Singapore from May 2013. Other cruise lines such as Holland American Line and Seabourn Cruises will are also make maiden calls to Singapore. This year alone, Singapore expects 9 maiden calls in total, which is almost double the number of new sailings in 2011. The official opening ceremony of MBCCS is slated for late 2012.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
