First Cruise Liner to Home Port at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong

On Tuesday, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) organised a ceremony to welcome the first cruise liner to homeport at the Hong Kong Kai Tak Cruise Terminal – Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas.

The cruise ship set off to Taiwan in the afternoon and will return to Hong Kong on 2 November.

This Hong Kong-Taiwan sailing, as well as another one scheduled for 2 November, was jointly arranged by the HKTB and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) with Royal Caribbean International. Hong Kong is the home port for both sailings.

HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam said, “When planning an itinerary, cruise lines tend to choose attractive ports of call in the same region. This means that if we want to grow Hong Kong’s cruise tourism, co-operation with other ports in the region is essential. The concerted effort of the HKTB and the TTB to bring Mariner of the Seas to Hong Kong and Taiwan marks a milestone in this kind of regional co-operation. Looking ahead, the HKTB is keen to collaborate with Taiwan and other regional ports to promote cruise development in Asia. By complementing one another, we can join forces to attract international cruise companies to develop new itineraries featuring Hong Kong, so that we can consolidate Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s cruise hub.”

With over 3,000 passengers on board, Mariner of the Seas left Hong Kong for Kaohsiung and Keelung in Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon on a five-day, four-night tour. It will return to Hong Kong on Saturday (2 November), and set sail again in the afternoon on the same day to Kaohsiung, before going back to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, its homeport, on 5 November (Tuesday).