HONG KONG PREFERRED PORT OF CALL FOR AWARD-WINNING SILVERSEA CRUISES

Silver Shadow, Silversea Cruises’ new luxury cruise ship made its inaugural call at Hong Kong yesterday (20 November), with more than 300 passengers aboard.

For six consecutive years, readers of US consumer travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveller have voted Silversea the world’s best small-ship cruise line. Silver Shadow, the latest addition to the fleet, was launched in September last year. Each cabin on the Silver Shadow is equipped with en-suite facilities, and 82% of the cabins have private balconies.

Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Executive Director, Ms Clara Chong said that the Silver Shadow’s maiden call was an indication of Hong Kong’s growing importance as a cruise hub for Asia.

“The cruise market is an important growth segment of Hong Kong’s tourism business,” Ms Chong said. “Last year, we welcomed more than 200,000 overseas cruise passengers, with particularly strong growth registered for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, and South and Southeast Asia.” In the first quarter of 2001, the total number of overseas cruise passengers travelling through Hong Kong grew by 18.8% to 63,465.

Ms Chong said that Hong Kong had a strong maritime history. “Hong Kong’s strategic location provides cruise passengers with a unique Chinese cultural voyage to the north to major Chinese ports such as Xiamen, Shanghai and Beijing. Silver Shadow, on the other hand, is taking an exotic adventure to the south, to Vietnam’s Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City on its Bali itinerary.

According to Aris Zarpanely, Senior Vice-President – Europe, Africa and Middle East at Silversea, Hong Kong should always be included as a port of call for worldwide cruises. “There is nowhere else in the world where you can arrive at port right in the city centre and have such a beautiful skyline as the backdrop,” he said. “The city’s excellent infrastructure, top-class hotels, and variety of sightseeing, dining and shopping attractions make it the perfect place to begin or end a cruise holiday.”

All big cruise liners berth at Ocean Terminal, located right in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, part of the larger Harbour City complex. This is Hong Kong’s largest office and shopping centre, boasting three hotels and 700 retail, food and beverage outlets and cinemas. Harbour City is within easy reach of some 25 hotels, and a great many tourist attractions — Nathan Road, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and the Science Museum among them. Being well supported by air links and ground transportation, cruise passengers find Hong Kong ideal for pre- and post-cruise holidays to Mainland China and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Hong Kong is not new to Silversea passengers: the cruise ships Silver Wind and Silver Cloud have been calling here regularly for a number of years. Silver Cloud will be making three calls at Hong Kong next year, in January, February and April. With the stunning backdrop of a world-famous skyline, the journey through Victoria Harbour is guaranteed to be a memorable one.