By Alex Vergara
As the region’s wealthy set looks for newer, more exciting cruise destinations, industry insiders believe that it’s not a question of if, but when cities in the Philippines become regular ports of call.
Cruising continues to be a big lure among Asians these days, including Filipinos. This trend is likely to get bigger in the coming years. And as regular cruisers look for newer, arguably better destinations, Sean Tracey, Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) managing director in Asia, believes that it isn’t a question of if, but when the Philippines becomes a regular port of call like Singapore, Hong Kong, and various other cities in China and Japan.
Tracey was in Manila recently to meet with travel agents and executives of Arpan Air Inc. and Baron Travel Corp. The sister companies have been RCI’s exclusive general sales agent (GSA) since cruising was at its infancy among Filipinos as recent as the 1990s. Back then, many affluent Asian families had to travel to Europe and North America to experience extended cruise holidays. That started to change when RCI set up offices in Singapore and started introducing relatively shorter, more accessible cruises within the region in 2007.
Not only did it surprise the market, RCI was itself surprised at how cruising among Asians had grown by leaps and bounds in terms of acceptance and popularity within a short span of time. From six sailings annually out of Singapore a decade ago via the 2,000-passenger Rhapsody of the Seas, for instance, RCI now sails 75 times out of the Lion City using two bigger ships.
These ships are the 4,000-passenger Mariner of the Seas, which includes such attractions as an ice skating rink and rock-climbing wall, and the Voyager of the Seas. The number of cruises coming out of Singapore doesn’t include over a hundred cruises originating from such cities as Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Sydney.
“Back then, we considered those six sailings coming out of Singapore revolutionary,” said Tracey. “In fact, the Rhapsody of the Seas was considered too big to call on the old cruise terminal in Singapore that it had to dock at the cargo terminal.”
From 15,000 annual cruisers from Asia 10 years ago, RCI now caters to over a million cruisers. In deference to RCI’s Philippine GSA, Tracey declined to give the actual number of Filipino cruisers in 2016, but the Philippine market has been registering “double-digit growth” in the last few years, he said.
Apart from the ships themselves, which resemble floating cities offering numerous dining, shopping, and entertainment options, so-called shore excursions—usually half-day city tours and shopping opportunities—have been part of a cruise holiday’s draw. Such land tours aren’t normally included in a regular cruise package. Passengers would have to pay extra to avail of them.
Guests, especially Asians, also appreciate the fact that they don’t have to pack and unpack every time a ship docks at an exotic locale because they have their cabins to go back to at the end of the day. Based on what Tracey has gathered over the years from RCI’s regional GSAs, the typical Asian cruiser also appreciates the value for money a cruise package offers.
“Potential cruisers initially find cruising expensive, but once our GSA walks them through what’s included—the range of activities, inclusive meals, and the fact that there’s something for everybody, especially for multigenerational families traveling together as a big group, they soon realize that going on a cruise is a good deal,” he said.
RCI, which also operates a luxury brand under the Azamara line, has also seen interest increase for more expensive cruises to smaller, more exclusive ports such as Lombok and Halong Bay. Since its Quantum class ships are too big to enter these smaller, shallower ports, RCI’s fleet of smaller Azamara ships take care of these destinations.
“We’re very excited by the growth we’ve seen in the last 10 years, but I think it’s only the beginning,” said Tracey. “As we’ve announced recently, our newest Quantum Class ship, the Quantum Ultra, will arrive in Asia in 2019. Although it can accommodate as many as 4,100 people, it’s not our biggest ship (the distinction belongs to the 6,000-passenger Oasis class). But it’s definitely our newest, most technologically advanced ship.”
Next year, Tracey also announced RCI’s plan to have five ports of call in Manila, which he hopes would grow overtime. At lot of it depends on the improvement of infrastructure to enable cruise companies like RCI to bring larger ships to Manila and other Philippine port cities like Cebu on a regular basis.
Since it was a former American naval base, Subic is big enough to hold some of RCI’s larger ships. What the destination needs to develop are more land attractions to give cruisers more reasons to visit it.
“I don’t have the exact date yet, but a ship with 4,100 passengers is scheduled to visit Subic next year,” said Tracey. “It will be an inaugural call to test the market’s reaction.”
Manila, which has plenty of land attractions to offer, doesn’t have the facilities yet to hold a 4,000-passenger Quantum-class ship, but Tracey believes that “if you build it, they will come.” For its part, RCI is in regular talks with the Department of Tourism and the Department of Transportation and Communication. These two government departments, he said, have recognized the economic opportunities regular cruises bring.
“It’s not a matter of if, but when,” Tracey added. “The important thing is progress is being made. In another 10 years, things will be a lot different. As cruising becomes more popular, the Chinese and Japanese market, for instance, are going to look for other destinations. Because of the beauty of the Philippines and its warm, friendly people, I believe many would be willing to fly out to Manila, even Boracay or Cebu, to join a cruise that would originate from here.”
