Royal Caribbean signed an initial agreement with Taiwan International Ports Co. (TIPC) worth $33.3 million to build a cruise ship pier in outlying Penghu County to allow the company's cruise ships to dock there.

The deal is a joint venture, with Royal Caribbean having a 51 percent stake in the investment and state-owned Taiwan International Ports Corporation holding the remainder.

The new pier will be complete in 2016 and will allow for cruise ships as large as Oasis of the Seas to dock there.

The pier will be Royal Caribbean's first construction project in Asia.

TIPC says the new project will not only boost travel to Penghu but will also raise Taiwan's profile as a cruise destination, as it is likely to increase the number of tourists visiting the country's other ports such as Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hualien.

Penghu announced plans to build a cruise port back in February 

The Penghu islands, off the coast of Taiwan, are the subject of new construction plans to build a cruise port to meet increasing demand by cruise lines as outlined by Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

The new plans will be proposed soon with the hopes the new port would make Penghu a destination for international cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean.  The plans aim to accomodate Royal Caribbean because the company has expressed interest several times to dock in Penghu.

Penghu has long fought for the relocation of the military base on the archipelago in order to make way for an international harbor.

The plan is to enlarge and add infrastructure to the current harbor and should take two years from the start date.

Local media in Taiwan are reporting that Royal Caribbean plans to propose a development plan for the port of Penghu Jinlongtou, which could be a new homeport in Asia for the cruise line.

SinoShip News reports Taiwan minister of Transportation and Communications, Yeh Kuang-shih, has instructed Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) to coordinate with Royal Caribbean on the investment plan.

Jinlongtou port currently belongs to the Taiwanese navy, and the navy has agreed to hand over the port and transfer its base to another port.

Royal Caribbean is expected to propose a development plan by the end of January.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in Asia at the moment, is scheduled to dock at Keelung Port in Northern Taiwan on Friday, which will set a record for daily cruise ship traffic in Taiwan's seaports.

Keelung Port Vice Manager Wei Shuo-liang confirmed the record will occur when the 140,000 ton vessel will bring its passengers to Taiwan.  Voyager of the Seas' arrival along with other ships in port will be enough to bring some 10,000 tourists through the port and make it Keelung's busiest day.

"It will also set a record high for daily cruise traffic in all ports in Taiwan," he added.

Royal Caribbean's Taipei office said earlier this year that the plan for a port call at Keelung signals the cruise line's plans to make inroads into the Asia market.

According to the local office, Royal Caribbean is also evaluating the possibility of making Keelung its home port in the Asia region.

Taiwan's cruise market future is looking bright with local and international cruise ship operators taking advantage of new routes, according to the Taiwan International Ports co.

Taiwan's Keelung Port official Jeffrey Tsao said some new cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean, are eyeing the Taiwan cruise market. Royal Caribbean is already planning on sending its Voyager of the Seas ship three times to Keelung this August and September .

"Taiwan's market for international cruise tourism is huge as our location is good for travel in Asia," he said.

Royal Caribbean will send Voyager of the Seas to dock in Keelung, Taiwan as part of its Asian itinerary in late August.

Lin Kai-ti, chairman of Royal Caribbean's Taiwan branch confined that Voyager of the Seas will bring its 3,800 passengers to the port later this year.

Voyager of the Seas has already been to Singapore in May and will make stop in Keelung across three cruises going from August through September. In addition to Keelung, the liner will take travelers to China's Shanghai and Tianjin, Japan's Fukuoka, and Jeju Island in South Korea.

Royal Caribbean indicated on Tuesday that it plans to expand its service in the Asia-Pacific region by introducing a 140,000 ton ship to its Asian routes in August.

The new ship will offer cruies between Keelung and Shanghai as well as other destinations in Japan and South Korea.

At Royal Caribbean's Taipei office, the cruise line said its desire to sail out of Keelung is a sign of the company's desire to establish itself in the Asian cruise market.  In addition, Royal Caribbean is also considering making Keelung its home port in the Asia region.

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas made a stop today in Taichung, Taiwan. The city's deputy mayor characterized the passengers as mostly from Europe, China and Australia.

To welcome the passengers, Taichung City Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun greeted them at the port and gave the tourists an aboriginal-style welcome, offering them Taichung's famous sun cakes and seasonal fruits such as lychees.

In addition, the city provided ground transportation services for the Chinese tourists on board, who were visiting Taiwan under the recently introduced individual traveler program.

Legend of the Seas is scheduled to depart Taichung for Keelung Port later in the day. It was its eighth call at Taichung Port, the most recent being in March 2009.