Spectrum of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's first Quantum Ultra class cruise ship, arrived in Hong Kong earlier today.
Royal Caribbean shared photos of the ship's arrival into the city.
Photos copyright Royal Caribbean International.
Royal Caribbean has posted its 2020-2021 sailings from Hong Kong on Spectrum of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas to destinations in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and more.
Beginning July 2020, Voyager of the Seas will offer 4 and 5 night sailings, along with 9 night immersive Japan journeys.
The brand new Spectrum of the Seas, the first Quantum Ultra Class ship offers Asia cruises to Nagasaki, Osaka, Okinawa and beyond for a limited-time, from November 2020 through January 2021.
You can view sailings scheduled for Spectrum of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.
These newly announced Hong Kong sailings are available to book immediately.
Royal Caribbean's newest Quantum-class cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas, arrived in Hong Kong earlier today.
Ovation of the Seas is on a 53-night global odyssey cruise that began from Southampton, England and will eventually see her way to Tianjin, China on May 3rd. She will then have a season in Tianjin in June before coming to Hong Kong in November.
To enable Hong Kongers to get a first-hand glimpse of the massive ship, Royal Caribbean arranged for Ovation of the Seas to visit Hong Kong today and stay for one night en route her 52-day maiden voyage from Europe to Tianjin, China for a naming ceremony officiated by the first ever Chinese Godmother Fan Bing Bing. The Ship was officially delivered to Royal Caribbean on April 8th 2016.
Ovation of the Seas is the third addition to the Quantum class ships, and is a sister ship to Quantum of the Seas that visited Hong Kong last year. Built by Meyer Werft in Germany at a cost of USD 1 billion, the 168,666 tons vessel has 2,090 staterooms for up to 4,180 guests and will be the largest cruise liner ever to be based in Hong Kong.
Photos copyright Royal Caribbean International.
The grand entrance of Ovation of the Seas into Hong Kong was marked with a prestigious ceremony graced by senior government dignitaries and key industry stakeholders. These included the Honorable Gregory So Kam-leung, GBS, JP (Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development); Mr Philip Yung, JP, (Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development - Commerce Industry and Tourism); Miss Cathy Chu Man-ling, JP (Commissioner for Tourism); and Mr. Anthony Lau (Executive Director, Hong Kong Tourism Board). They were joined by executives from the cruise line including Mr. Michael Bayley (President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International) and Mr. Henrik Loy, Captain of the Ovation of the Seas.
To mark the event, a themed ovation to Hong Kong was arranged in keeping with the vessel’s name to celebrate the occasion. This “Cel-Ovation of the Marvels of Hong Kong” drew parallels between Hong Kong’s achievements and those of Ovation of the Seas in offering a world class “Cruise Extraordinary” experience to Hong Kong people.
To this end, Royal Caribbean presented trophies to five Hong Kong celebrities who have achieved regional or global acclaim in the five areas. For Technology the trophy went to science whiz Chan Yik Hei, dubbed "Son of the Star"; for Art it went to music prodigy Wong Ka Jeng, for Culinary it went to the esteemed chef, Ricky Cheung; for Entertainment it went to dance producer Mak Chau Shing; and for Sports it went to speed climber Lisa Cheng, Hong Kong's very own ‘Spider Girl'.
Following its success in Hong Kong last year, Royal Caribbean is bringing its brand new Ovation of the Seas to Hong Kong in November 2016. This will be the first time that Royal Caribbean will have two ships deployed in Hong Kong.
Dr. Zinan Liu, President, North APAC & China of Royal Caribbean International said, “We are so confident in the Hong Kong cruise market we decided to extend the homeport season of Voyager of the Seas from three months to over four months, and in addition bring our newest ship,Ovation of the Seas, here by the end of this year. Having two ships here will enable us to increase our programme in Hong Kong from 20 to 30 sailings . This means we could be welcoming over 100,000 vacationers this year which is about a 65% increase compared to last year.”
Hong Kong
Ovation of the Seas is the third addition to the Quantum class ships, and is a sister ship to Quantum of the Seas that visited Hong Kong last year. Built by Meyer Werft in Germany at a cost of USD 1 billion, the 168,666 tons vessel has 2,090 staterooms for up to 4,180 guests and will be the largest cruise liner ever to be based in Hong Kong.
Ovation of the Seas will depart from Southampton, England on her 53-day “Global Odyssey” cruise to Tianjin, China on 3rd of May. She will then have a season in Tianjin in June before coming to Hong Kong in November.
Authentic Cantonese delicacies on board
For the first-time-ever, Royal Caribbean is partnering on board with the award-winning Cantonese culinary experts, Xin Dau Ji, to provide over 20 exquisite signature dishes, including fried scallops, fish fillets with corn, steamed chicken in Lotus leaves, pan-fried fresh shrimp and more.
Balwin Yeung, Director of Sales & Marketing of Royal Caribbean Cruises Hong Kong Ltd. said, “Hong Kong vacationers expect the very best at this level of cruising which is why we have invited Xin Dau Ji to answer their culinary desires, especially their craving for truly authentic Chinese cuisine. Both Royal Caribbean and Xin Dau Ji are noted for their innovative approaches and share the same target group of customers in middle-class families. With these values in common and a similar customer base we should be perfect partners, in achieving a win-win collaboration.”
To ensure guests can enjoy the perfect meal with their friends, Voyager of the Seas has also introduced the all-new “E-sea dining” seat arrangement for on board restaurants. Guests can get seats with companions when they come to the restaurant instead of only getting a designated table. The main menu has also been upgraded to Quantum Class, and redesigned to a picture-oriented menu for more appealing reading.
C AllStar
In another breakthrough, Royal Caribbean has announced its collaboration with the popular young boy band, C AllStar to entertain travellers on board. It will be the first theme-cruise of Royal Caribbean’s new Hong Kong homeport season.
The positive image and the energetic charisma of C AllStar matches perfectly with the vitality of Royal Caribbean’s brand image. The inspiring story of the young band represents the spirit of diligence and perseverance of Hong Kongers, which also symbolizes Royal Caribbean International’s determination to stay in Hong Kong and their vision to “Cruise Extraordinary”.
Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas entered Victoria Habour earlier today in Hong Kong for the final time this cruise season.
From July to October this year, Voyager of the Seas has seen nearly 70,000 guests enjoy cruising on her during this season.
Voyager of the Seas will return for another season in Hong Kong in 2016.
Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas arrived in Hong Kong earlier today.
Quantum of the Seas is on a global odyssey cruise that began in New Jersey and will eventually see her be based in Shanghai, China.
Royal Caribbean executives were on hand in Hong Kong for Quantum's arrival into Kai Tak cruise terminal. The Hong Kong Police Band performed in Two70 as part of the celebration.
Quantum of the Seas is staying overnight in Hong Kong and will leave at 3.00pm on Sunday. The ship will return to the city in December.
Photos copyright Royal Caribbean International.
Royal Caribbean is once again moving deeper into Asia by establishing an office in Hong Kong to compliment the company's offices in Beijing and Shanghai.
In addition, Voyager of the Seas will be homeported in Hong Kong for 22 cruises next summer. Voyager of the Seas had previously sailed out of Shanghai and Beijing when previously sailing out of China.
Voyager of the Seas will offer a six-night cruise out of Beijing (Tianjin) on June 26, 2015, where she will sail to her new homeport of Hong Kong. Voyager of the Seas will remain in Hong Kong through October 2015 and offer cruises of three- to ten-night sailings.
Voyager of the Seas will visit Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as destinations in China.
Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas left from Hong Kong's brand newKai TakCruiseTerminal today, the first cruise ship to do so.
Mariner of the Seas took its 3,000 passengers on a cruise heading toward Taiwan,and the sailing was jointly arranged by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Taiwan Bureau with Royal Caribbean.
Mariner of the Seas left Hong Kong for Kaohsiung and Keelungin Taiwan on a five-day, four-night cruise. Mariner of the Seas will return to Hong Kong on November 2nd and then turn around for another cruise to Kaohsiung before returning on November 5th.
Royal Caribbean will be the first cruise line to offer round trip cruises out of Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong, which is scheduled to open next week.
Starting this fall, Royal Caribbean will offer cruises on Mariner of the Seas. Royal Caribbean is the first company to announce cruises that will home port from thr new port.
"Hong Kong is one of the most important home ports in Asia," said Dr Liu Zinan, Royal Caribbean's managing director of China. "Asia, including China, is one of the strategic markets for Royal Caribbean."
Mariner of the Seas has never visited Hong Kong before because it was too big for Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui to handle.
When the Kai Tak terminal building opens next Wednesday, Mariner of the Seas will be the first ship to use the immigration counters, as part of a Singapore-Shanghai cruise in which Hong Kong is a port of call.
Shorter trips out of Hong Kong are lined up starting in autumn. At the end of October, the vessel will embark on a four-night round trip to two Taiwanese cities, Kaohsiung and Taipei.
A three-night return trip to Kaohsiung will take place in November, following which the Mariner will leave Hong Kong for Singapore for the winter season.
Making a city a home port is considered to bring bigger economic benefits than transits, as passengers may stay extra nights in the city before or after their standard itineraries. Last year, such passengers spent an average of HK$4,833 a day, twice as much as conventional tourists.
Beginning in June, Royal Caribbean cruise ships sailing into Hong Kong will dock at the new $1 billion Kai Tak Cruise Terminal that features eco-friendly features and an impressive harbor view from the terminal's interior and rooftop.
The new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal can handle ships of up to 220,000 gross registered tonnage. It can also process 3,000 passengers an hour.
The first ship scheduled to officially utilize the new Kai Tak terminal is Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas on June 12. Voyager of the Seas will also dock here this year. Royal Caribbean ships will return to dock here in 2014 as well.
Right now, Asia is a hotbed for cruise industry growth. "Total Asian cruise passengers could reach seven million by 2020 based on projected China cruise market growth," said Bill Flora, director – USA, Hong Kong Tourism Board . "Asia could likely represent 20% of the global cruise market by 2020.”