Northstar

12 | www.travelweekly-asia.com COVER STORY The spacious office of Christina Siaw, CEO of Singapore Cruise Centre, offers a panaromic view of the ocean. It is a fitting vista for an executive who lives and breathes cruising and is passionate about the future of cruising in Asia. Siaw is also not shy about speaking her mind and one of her biggest bugbears is that the lack of port infrastucture is holding back South-east Asia from realising its potential as cruising's Caribbean of the East. Asia has been identified as the next big market for cruising, but industry experts such as Siaw warn the region will require more infrastructure to boost ports of call for new cruise ships. While Singapore features state- of-the-art cruise terminals, other destinations in the region are playing catch-up. Siaw told Travel Weekly Asia, "In South-east Asia, while we want to position ourselves as a Caribbean of the East, there just aren't enough ports that can take the big ships. In Singapore, we have the new facility that can take mega ships, but what about the rest of South-east Asia? A lot of places still cannot receive these ships. and even they have these problems. What about the small interesting places? They don't have anything at all." Siaw would like to see foreign investments come in to build the ports. "In certain industries, such as marine tourism, foreigners cannot own a majority share. So if you ask us, why don't we build a marine tourist facility somewhere in Indonesia, Philippines or Thailand, then our reply would be, yes we'd love to, but can we have control? Most of the time the answer is no. "The second problem is that there are many small, interesting places (to visit) in Asia. For example, there are little spots around Java, all around Indonesia, but these places have no berths." Additional ports of call in Asia would allow itineraries to be more interesting and varied for cruisers, Siaw said, but places like Phuket face limitations due to the weather and ships have to be diverted, and in Yangon sandbars during low-tide are an obstacle. "These are the famous ports, By Natalie Chen LACK OF CAPITAL HAMPERING SE ASIA FROM BECOMING CARIBBEAN OF THE EAST Costa Victoria will sail from Singapore in November. Christina Siaw: "When the ships come here and cruise around ASEAN, all of us benefit." Australia is celebrating news of the arrival of Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's brand new ship to port out of Sydney in time for the peak summer season starting in December 2016. The world's largest cruise brand is currently building the US$1 billion megaliner, which will feature 18 decks and be home to nearly 5,000 guests and 1,500 crew. Passengers will access their rooms via a radio frequency By Catharine Nicol INNOVATION FOR THE OVATION wristband and book onboard experiences through the Royal iQ app on their personal devices. First ever entertainment options include the skydiving simulating Ripcord by iFLY, the North Star aerial observatory for 360-degree views over 90 metres above the water, indoor sports and entertainment complex SeaPlex, the Two70 multimedia lounge and The Bionic Bar, where passengers order by tablet and their cocktail is mixed by bionic arms. In addition, restaurants include a partnership with Jamie Oliver featuring the celebrity chef's Jamie's Italian on board. "This will be our third restaurant with Royal Caribbean, and it's been a real honour to work with their team," says Oliver. "The response we've had to Quantum of the Seas – our first restaurant at sea – has been brilliant." Despite all the bells and whistles, Ovation of the Seas, as one of the brand's Quantum Class ships, uses less energy than older ships due to an enhanced ship design, and state of the art systems and appliances. "Ovation of the Seas will redefine the idea of cruising in Australia, taking the industry to the next level by offering a host of incredible never- before-seen features and technologies," says Gavin Smith, regional vice-president Royal Caribbean Asia Pacific. You'd be a minority shareholder." She said these things are not happening fast enough as capital cannot flow freely from one country to another. Additionally there can be no control on return on capital. She said there was also a need to raise the level of awareness of attractions in South-east Asia to Chinese and Indians who form the largest percentage of cruisers. Said Siaw, "When the ships come here and cruise around ASEAN, all of us benefit. It's chicken and egg. You don't have infrastructure, they can't come. They don't come, you can't build infrastructure. One way is to promote cruising in South-east Asia as fun and interesting to the Chinese and Indians. And when they start coming, then countries can build something because they know they can make their money back."

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