Former FTI Berlin Sets Sail to Malaysia

Former FTI Berlin Sets Sail to Malaysia

The former FTI Berlin recently set sail for its new home in Malaysia after spending several months in Ningde, China.

Acquired by the Berlin Capital Group in late 2024, the 1980-built vessel is being prepared to offer short casino cruises out of Penang.

The company’s plans initially called for a March 2025 startup, which was later postponed due to delays in the ship’s refit.

Renamed the Berlin Oceanis, the 9,570-ton vessel departed from the port of Ningde on May 24, 2025.

Sailing under the flag of Comoros, the ship is now expected to arrive at its new homeport on June 2, 2025.

According to a series of updates shared by the new owner, most of the public areas onboard the vessel were renovated during refurbishment in China.

In a video shared in early March, the company marked the demolition of venues on deck five, which made room for new spaces.

“This phase has been one of the most time-consuming parts of the transformation, but now that it’s done, everything will start moving much faster,” the Berlin Capital Group said.

“With this major milestone behind us, we’re looking forward to smoother progress,” the company added.

Additional details about the ship’s first voyages and commissioning were still to be announced at press time.

Originally built for Germany-based Peter Deilmann, the Berlin Oceanis was last operated by FTI Cruises.

With its owners shutting down cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vessel was sold to Dreamliner Cruises in late 2020.

Renamed Dream Goddess, the ship was to undergo a major refurbishment and be converted into a mega yacht.

However, the project did not proceed, and the former Berlin remained docked at a Greek port for nearly five years.

In addition to Peter Deilmann and FTI Cruises, the vessel also sailed for Saga Cruises and other brands.

Anthem of the Seas Arrives in Singapore

Anthem of the Seas Arrives in Singapore

Photo credit Spacejunkie2

According to a press release, Royal Caribbean International’s Anthem of the Seas arrived in Singapore to kick off its inaugural season in Asia.

The ship will offer a series of sailings in Southeast Asia, ranging from short three—to four-night escapes to longer voyages in Malaysia and Thailand, among other destinations.

“We’re thrilled to introduce Anthem to the region and look forward to welcoming holidaymakers onboard as they embark on new adventures with Royal Caribbean,” said Chad Grospe, vice president of Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean International. 

“Whether it’s a short three- to four-night escape or a longer adventure to fan-favourite destinations across Malaysia, Thailand and more, every type of holidaymaker can look forward to a variety of experiences on deck, from showstopping entertainment to restaurants and spots to grab a bite with flavours from around the world.”

Travellers can choose among 30 voyages aboard the Anthem, including:

• Three- to four-night getaways to destinations like Penang, Malaysia, and Phuket, Thailand.
• Five-night Spice of Southeast Asia cruises with visits to Penang and Phuket, with opportunities to explore nearby attractions such as the Phi Phi Islands.
• Eight-night Bali Adventure sailings featuring stops along Bali’s coastline, with access to cultural landmarks and scenic beaches.
• Ten-night Ultimate Southeast Asia cruises, with visits to Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Bangkok, among other destinations in Vietnam and Thailand.
• Four-night Christmas voyage, departing on December 24, 2024, with stops at Penang and Phuket.
• Five-night New Year’s cruise, departing December 28, 2024, visiting Malaysia and Thailand for a festive celebration.

Diamond Princess Set for Japan Reposition

Diamond Princess Set for Japan Reposition

After resuming service on the West Coast in November, the Diamond Princess is setting sail to Japan on Sunday.

Scheduled for a complete program in the Asian country, the Princess Cruises’ vessel is departing on a repositioning voyage to Yokohama – a port near Tokyo.

The 25-night Pacific Crossing itinerary sails from the West Coast and includes visits to ports in Hawaii, the Pacific and Asia.

Starting on March 15, the Diamond Princess is set to offer a series of five- to 19-day cruises to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

In addition to Yokohama, the program also includes departures from Kobe and features a total of 38 destinations in three countries, as well as 43 unique itineraries and 57 departures.

Ports of call include Sakata, Naha, Nagasaki, Otaru, Hakodate, Nagasaki, Ishigaki, Cheju, Busan, Keelung and more.

Upon completing its program in Japan, the Diamond Princess is set to reposition to Southeast Asia for a winter season visiting Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and others.

Built-in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, the Diamond Princess originally entered service in March 2004.

According to Princess, the 113,000-ton vessel was designed to cruise to Japanese ports and offers the Princess MedallionClass experience, which allows guests to personalize their cruises with a “touchless and effortless” service.

Extensively refurbished over the years, the Diamond Princess underwent a major renovation in 2019. At the time, the 2,600-guest ship received new features, such as Japanese bidets in suites and public restrooms.

The ship’s Movies Under The Stars screen was also updated, receiving new surround sound digital audio, while the main pool deck LED lighting received enhancements for a more vibrant and colourful entertainment experience.

Further general refurbishments include upgraded digital audio systems for the Princess Theater, Explorers Lounge and Club Fusion, as well as new furnishings in the Horizon Court buffet area, and more.

Resorts World Cruises Adds Malaysia Homeporting to Operation

Resorts World Cruises Adds Malaysia Homeporting to Operation

Resorts World Cruises announced that it will be the first cruise line to add a Kuala Lumpur homeport (via Port Klang) for the Genting Dream starting July, in addition to the Singapore homeport, which the company started operations from in June.

With the dual homeport options, travellers can now choose to embark from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Two-night cruises from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore will depart on Thursdays and Saturdays and three-night cruises from Kuala Lumpur to Penang and Singapore will depart on Mondays.

Departure days from Singapore will remain the same on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; and from July 22 onwards, Friday cruises will re-introduce the two-night High Seas Weekend Getaway cruises.

The dual homeport was designed to further cater for the demand of round-trip cruises, targeting the 10 million+ population residing in central Peninsular Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca), who live within a short drive of Port Klang, the embarkation port. 

Besides that, Resorts World Cruises will also offer one-way cruises that will become an alternative to air and land travel for the millions of travellers between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, including to Penang.

“Resorts World Cruises is excited to take the lead for the cruise sector to boost the in-and-outbound tourists for Singapore; and to bring cruising to the ‘doorsteps’ of Malaysians residing in central Peninsular Malaysia as they can depart from Kuala Lumpur, which is convenient and affordable,” said Michael Goh, President of Resorts World Cruises. “As Genting Dream is certified as the World’s

Norwegian Cruise Line Could Be Set To Move Some Asia Capacity

Norwegian Cruise Line Could Be Set To Move Some Asia Capacity

With uncertainties still surrounding operating cruises in parts of Asia, Norwegian Cruise Line could be poised to redeploy ships in the near future, according to NCLH President and CEO Frank Del Rio, speaking on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

Despite what Del Rio said were cruises selling at very high prices, there is still a risk.

“And so we will likely take some chips off the board in the coming weeks to balance that risk-reward, likely at the Norwegian brand, which has more flexibility in where it can achieve good pricing and accelerate the bookings, much faster than Oceania and Regent can, because of the longer booking curve there,” Del Rio said.

The Norwegian Sun has a scheduled Asia program for the 2022-2023 season, while the newly-refurbished Norwegian Spirit is scheduled to sail in Australia and New Zealand.

“The good news is that we heard from the Minister of Tourism in New Zealand that they expect New Zealand to open up no later than October to cruising. That opens up that whole Australasia area for us (including) Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti. And we hear good commentary coming out of some Asian countries, some Asian ports, (but) not China. And we're not very big in China as you know,” he continued.

Del Rio said he was hopeful for Asia and also South America, where Argentina, Uruguay and Chile will be open to ships.

“The world is reopening perhaps at different paces. But it is reopening. And that's good news for us.”

24-day cruise to be longest in Carnival history

Carnival Splendor.

Carnival Cruise Line said it plans to offer a 2019 cruise of 24 days, the longest in its 46-year history.

The transpacific cruise is scheduled to depart Long Beach on Oct. 5 and arrive in Singapore on Oct. 30.

The voyage aboard the Carnival Splendor will feature extended port calls in Maui and Honolulu. It will then visit Guam; Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- the first time the line has visited these destinations on a ship departing from North America.

Carnival also announced two other longer cruises for 2019 aboard the Carnival Miracle -- a 13-day Panama Canal transit from Tampa to Long Beach and a 14-day Hawaii cruise roundtrip from Long Beach.

Royal Caribbean and STB in Marketing Deal to Promote Singapore

Royal Caribbean and STB in Marketing Deal to Promote Singapore

Royal Caribbean International has signed a first-ever multi-million  dollar  marketing  collaboration  with the  Singapore  Tourism  Board  (STB)  and Changi Airport Group (CAG) to promote cruising out of Singapore and, in turn, attract the cruise line's largest number of overseas fly-cruise guests here.

The tripartite collaboration – which runs between 2015 and 2018 – is estimated to pull in over
170,000 overseas visitors to Singapore to sail on Royal Caribbean’s cruises over that period, resulting in a projected growth of over 50 percent.

This will be done via a series of marketing campaigns, research studies and channel development activities, such as partnerships with the media and trade, in markets not only within Asia such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, but also beyond the region in Australia, Europe and North America.

Royal Caribbean also plans to increase its number of sailings from Singapore during this period to over 40 a year. Currently, the cruise line’s 3,840-guest Mariner of the Seas makes around 30 voyages annually. Her next Singapore season which will be the largest ever starting from this

October will feature more long cruises of seven to 15 nights, aimed at attracting more overseas fly-cruise guests.

Sean Treacy, Managing Director, Singapore and Southeast Asia of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. said: “Having deployed ships here regularly for the last seven years, Royal Caribbean now looks
forward to its next phase of significant growth in Singapore. Our three-year deployment plan is our strongest commitment ever to this market and we see great potential in Singapore as a
source market and regional cruise hub. We highly appreciate this collaboration which will be a tremendous support for our business goals in Singapore and Southeast Asia, as well as the strong efforts of the Singapore Government for being so proactive in driving the cruise business in the country.”

Said  Neeta  Lachmandas,  Assistant  Chief  Executive  (Business  Development  Group),
Singapore Tourism Board: “The tripartite collaboration is a significant development not just for Singapore but also for Southeast Asia. We hope Royal Caribbean’s commitment will inspire new cruise itineraries around the region to offer more reasons for travellers to take to cruising, and also motivate our neighbouring ports and destinations to invest and realise fully the tremendous potential of the Asian cruise industry.”

Providing a link between Royal Caribbean International, Singapore and its regional neighbours is Changi Airport’s strong connectivity to 320 cities worldwide, along with some 6,700 weekly flights, giving Singapore a strategic advantage to effectively tap fly-cruise traffic from across the globe and serve as a cruise hub for Asia.

CAG’s Senior Vice President for Market Development, Mr Lim Ching Kiat, said: “This collaboration represents the synergistic efforts by CAG, Royal Caribbean and STB to effectively tap fly-cruise traffic from across the globe and serve as a cruise hub for Asia. Changi Airport will continue to  leverage  on  its  network and  work with airlines  and  travel  agents to  promote fly-cruise packages through Singapore.”

Royal Caribbean a partner in Malaysia project

By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean International is one of the companies signing a memorandum of understanding to co-develop a destination called Melaka Gateway said to cost $12 billion over 10 years.

The project will be built on three islands in Malaysia covering 609 acres. It will include a cruise terminal, a 1,000-slip marina and a ferry terminal as well as luxury hotel and condominium components.

The lead developer is KAJ Development. The prime minister of Malaysia officiated at the unveiling last week of a master plan for the project, which is expected to boost tourism to Malaysia by 2.5 million visitors over 12 years. 

Amid Asia tensions, uncertainty over expansion

By Tom Stieghorst

Maritime disputes in Asia have thrown a crimp into the cruise industry’s plans to expand in that fast-growing area of the world, and signs are the problem is growing worse.

The latest is a report in the Wall Street Journal that China is challenging archaeological exploration of hundreds of shipwrecks, many of them distant from its own shores.

The article says China views the wrecks as proof of Chinese exploration of islands in the South China Sea, in areas close to the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

According to the report, of particular concern was an incident last year off the coast of the Philippines, when Chinese vessels forced a French archaeological team to abandon its exploration of a 13th century Chinese junk.

Already, China and Japan are in a standoff over disputed islands in the East China Sea. As a result, Royal Caribbean International and other cruise lines are not including Japan on their itineraries from China, opting for only Korean ports on cruises from northern Chinese cities.

The tensions in that area have escalated, too, with China claiming air rights over a wide swath of international ocean, including the disputed islands known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.

In its new air defense identification zone, China seeks to require all aircraft to file flight plans before entering the area. Japan and the U.S. immediately sent military planes into the space unannounced, to challenge the newly asserted Chinese zone.

None of this can improve the chance that China will get more big cruise ships. Until the uncertainty clears, the cruise industry’s Asia expansion, certainly in China, will not be full steam ahead.

Speaking on a third-quarter conference call to analysts, before China asserted its new air defense rights, Royal Caribbean International President Adam Goldstein said Royal had been hoping in 2013 to announce plans to resume calls in Japan on its China cruises aboard the Mariner and Voyager of the Seas. Instead, it has been forced to open 2014 bookings with only Korean destinations again.

“This is, of course, frustrating particularly since we do not see any signs of positive geopolitical change in the dynamic between China and Japan,” Goldstein said. “We continue to build our brand, our distribution and our management team in China with a view to making the best of the itinerary options that are available to us.”