SINGAPORE, 20 September 2022: Coral Princess arrived at Melbourne’s Station Pier Cruise Ship Terminal late last week for her maiden visit, emblazoned with a “We Love Melbourne” banner proudly displayed across its bow.
It’s the first cruise ship to visit Melbourne in more than two years.
The ship was on a six-day sail from Sydney along the coast of southeastern Australia. After departing Melbourne, it sailed to Adelaide, which will also be marking the return of cruising to South Australia.
Thirteen cruise ships will be visiting or home porting in Melbourne during the upcoming summer cruise season. Between them, they will make 70 calls — including nine overnight stays — and 11 calls to Phillip Island.
The Coral Princess is the vanguard for multiple Carnival Australia cruise lines basing ships in Melbourne or having ships call during the remainder of this year and in 2023. Beginning in November, three brands — P&O Cruises Australia, Princess Cruises and Cunard — will homeport ships in Melbourne for cruise seasons.
Princess Cruises senior vice president Asia Pacific Stuart Allison said was exciting for Coral Princess to be the first ship to return to Melbourne following the cruise industry’s restart and being the first ‘smart ship’ MedallionClass vessel to visit the city.
“Princess Cruises is committed to the Australian cruise market for the long term, and we value our loyal guests for whom cruising from Melbourne is their holiday choice, and they will have opportunities for this during Grand Princess’s dedicated Melbourne cruise season,” Allison said.
SINGAPORE, 20 September 2022: Changi Airport will increase its Passenger Service and Security Fee (PSSF) and the Aviation Levy (AL) effective 1 November.
The fees and levies will go towards Changi Airport Group (CAG)’s operation and current infrastructure upgrading of terminals and future development plans, and the air hub development and regulatory functions of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).
In 2020 passengers departing from Changi Airport paid SGD35.40, but it was scheduled to increase to SGD37.90 in 2021 and SGD40.40 in 2022.
However, the planned increases were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic The OD PSSF* has been subsequently pegged at SGD35.40 since 1 April 2020.
Effective 1 November, all that changes with the OD PSSF rising to SGD40.40. It will again increase to SGD43.40 on 1 April 2023 and to SGD46.40 on 1 April 2024.
The Landing, Parking and Aerobridge (LPA) charges for all flights operating at Changi Airport will increase by 2% on 1 November 2022 and increase by another 1% each year on 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2024.
From 1 November 2022, the Aviation Levy (AL) for passengers departing from Changi Airport will increase SGD1.90, from SGD6.10 to SGD8 during 2023 and 2024. The AL will continue to apply to passengers departing from Changi Airport only. Passengers arriving at Changi Airport, as well as transfer and transit passengers, do not pay the AL.
The AL funds the air hub development and regulatory functions of the CAAS, which are expected to grow as CAAS works to rebuild Singapore’s position as a global air hub post-pandemic. This is the first adjustment to the AL, which was introduced 13 years ago in 2009 at SGD6.10.
With the increases in PSSF and AL, the total fees and levies paid by OD passengers for tickets issued on or after 1 November 2022 will increase from SGD52.30 currently to SGD59.20 for those travelling from 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023. Subsequently, it will increase to SGD62.20 for those travelling from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and SGD65.20 for those travelling from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Passengers whose air tickets have already been issued before 1 November 2022 will not pay the higher fees and levies.
*OD PSSF: Origin Destination Passenger Service and Security Fee.
An Origin-Destination (OD) passenger is a passenger who departs from Changi Airport to another destination.
Summary of Charges Payable by Passengers at Changi Airport from 1 November 2022
[1] An Origin-Destination (OD) passenger refers to a passenger who departs from Changi Airport to another destination.
DUBAI, 20 September 2022: To celebrate the world-renowned German festival Oktoberfest, Emirates will serve Bavarian treats onboard flights to Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, and Frankfurt, as well as the respective airport lounges, until 2 October.
Serving its cosmopolitan customer base, Emirates celebrates many multicultural occasions on board, such as Diwali, Christmas, and Lunar New Year. The special celebration of Oktoberfest sees passengers enjoy a traditionally German main course and dessert in the economy, business and first class, bistro bites in the iconic onboard A380 lounge, and a variety of classic Oktoberfest dishes in the world-class airport lounges.
Passengers in economy class can feast on roasted chicken with paprika, served with creamy mustard sauce, potato wedges and braised red cabbage, followed by a Bienenstich- a signature German cream cake with almonds and honey, served with fruit compote. Business and first-class passengers enjoy braised veal shank, roasted seasonal vegetables and moreish bread dumplings, and first-class passengers indulge in Dampfnudel for dessert – a traditional sweet, steamed bun with a caramelised bottom and soft pillowy top, drizzled with vanilla sauce and whipped cream.
Tasty Oktoberfest sandwiches and snacks available on board include Leberwurst sausage sandwich with sweet mustard, an Austrian roll with Emmental cheese and gherkin, and the ultimate German savoury snack – pretzels. Before landing, passengers will be given a parting gift of individually wrapped gingerbread hearts.
In the airport lounges of Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, and Frankfurt, an array of dishes are available for customers, including veal Weisswurst with parsley and mustard- a traditional Bavarian sausage. Guests can choose a light bite of Obazda and pretzel- a cheese delicacy, or indulge in some flavoursome chicken with parsley, classic potato salad and Käsepätzle – the German version of mac and cheese, made with egg noodles and Emmental.
Emirates currently offers three daily flights from Dubai to Frankfurt, double daily connections to Munich, and daily flights to Dusseldorf and Hamburg. Responding to the upsurge in passenger demand, the winter flight schedule will see additional flight operations planned on these routes from 1 October onwards.
SINGAPORE, 20 September 2022: Resorts World Cruises has launched thematic cruises on the Genting Dream that will provide guests every month with new and refreshing vacation experiences at sea.
In September, the Light Meets Night thematic cruise set sail, presenting a spectacular installation of colourful and glow-in-the-dark interactive displays.
Thematic cruises await guests in the following months, including the Clowning Around Halloween cruise, a Special Diwali Celebration, and the Sensational Voyage focusing on wellness; and in time for the year-end festive and school holidays, have yourself a Jelilo Christmas, featuring the creations of one of Singapore’s famous art and toy creators from gagatree.
In addition, the cruise line offers Sail-Away Celebration Parties, which are available at the start of each week for Genting Dream’s Sunday departures.
“At Resorts World Cruises, we are taking the celebration up a notch by introducing unique themes that will be refreshed every month for our guests’ pleasure. Each thematic cruise promises to be different, and guests can look forward to a one-of-a-kind experience at sea, complementing the extensive onboard offerings, cuisines and shore excursions readily available,” said Resorts World Cruises president Michael Goh.
CHIANG RAI, 20 September 2022: Mekong River cruises in far north Thailand are making a comeback after a two-year pause caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism Authority of Thailand director for Chiang Rai and Phayao, Wisut Buachum, posted the good news on his Facebook page on Monday, confirming the return of sunset cruises operated by Mae Khong Delta, a local travel company based in the riverside town of Chiang Saen.
Wisut Buachum TAT director Chiang Rai and Phayao.
“The cruises are coming back offering contrasting ambiences such as nature, community life on the river banks and the man-made construction of the gigantic Roman Kings project on the facing river bank in Laos.”
The sunset cruise departs daily at 1700 and returns to the small river port in Chiang Saen at 2000. Other cruises will be launched in November when international tour groups from Europe are expected to return to Chiang Rai province.
For the time being, the province’s tourism business is surviving on domestic tourists, who were the chief lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic that saw hundreds of resorts and attractions close their doors.
Tourism officials say September bookings are the lowest on record. However, historically, September is always the poorest performer for domestic and international tourist visits. But they are hopeful that an uptick in bookings during October and November will allow resorts and attractions to kickstart recovery.
Chiang Rai’s tourism usually capitalises on having two international borders skirting Myanmar and Laos. Travellers in pre-Covid-19 days could travel to these countries as part of itineraries that explored two or three countries in the Mekong Region. Today the borders remain closed for international travellers and, to some degree, even local traders and tourists.
Kham Kong Run starting line – the run that crosses the Mekong.
But the TAT director is confident changes are in the pipeline, starting with the reopening of the river ferry crossing between the town centre ports of Chiang Khong and Huay Xai in Laos, which is more convenient for Thai and Lao nationals than the roundabout route via the friendship bridge.
According to the deputy governor of Bokeo, cross-river travel between the two ports was due to reopen on 19 September, in addition to the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge that reopened earlier for both cars and cargo trucks.
There are reports that travellers from ASEAN countries have crossed the bridge, having been granted a 21-day visa-exemption stay in Laos. Other reports say that only Thai and Lao citizens can cross the bridge without a visa. Reliable sources in Chiang Khong say other nationalities can cross the bridge if they have a tourist visa to enter Laos and that costs around USD45.
Last weekend, hundreds of joggers joined the revived Kham Kong Run between the two riverside towns. They set out from the starting line in Chiang Khong near the friendship bridge and were welcomed by the deputy governor of Bokeo at the Huai Xai market in Lao PDR. Instead of jogging back across the bridge, commuter vans picked runners up for the return trip. Despite the last-minute change in the logistics, it was heralded as a new start for the community projects that the two riverside towns share. The close links between Chiang Khong and Huay Xai were reflected in the name of the event, ‘Kham Kong’ which means ‘Cross the Mekong,’ but tourists wishing to do the same find the directions are about as clear as the muddy flood water of the Mekong River.
HONG KONG, 20 September 2022: August passenger traffic continued to show promising signs of recovery according to the Airport Authority Hong Kong’s traffic figures for August 2022.
During the month, Hong Kong International Airport handled 479,000 passengers, representing year-on-year growth of 116.3%, although traffic remained significantly below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. Flight movements decreased by 11.3% to 11,390 compared to the same month last year, while cargo throughput dropped 21.0% to 338,000 tonnes.
HKIA was named “China’s Leading Airport” at the 29th annual World Travel Awards.
After the further relaxation of restrictions on inbound travel in August, the growth in passenger throughput was driven by both returning residents and visitors to Hong Kong. Passenger traffic to and from Southeast Asia experienced the most significant increase.
Cargo volume was affected by global economic uncertainties, continuing geopolitical tensions and disruptions to global supply chains. Exports and imports decreased by 25% and 20%, respectively, compared to the same month last year. Cargo traffic to and from key trading regions in North America and Europe registered the most significant decreases.
Over the first eight months, the airport handled 1.7 million passengers, marking a year-on-year increase of 141.5%. Flight movements and cargo throughput dropped 2.8% and 11.1% to 85,020 and 2.8 million tonnes, respectively.
On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume and flight movements increased by 121.9% and 6.1% to 2.4 million and 142,330, respectively. Cargo throughput saw a decline of 2.9% to 4.7 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, HKIA was named “China’s Leading Airport” at the 29th annual World Travel Awards. Voted by travel professionals, media and high-end consumers worldwide, the prestigious awards recognise top companies and organisations across various sectors in the global travel industry.
AAHK executive director, airport operations Vivian Cheung said: “We are honoured that HKIA was named China’s Leading Airport at the World Travel Awards. As an international and regional aviation hub, HKIA is committed to providing a pleasant experience for passengers. We have been continuously upgrading terminal facilities and introducing measures to enhance our capacity and enrich the travel experience.”
MUSANDAM, Oman, 16 September 2022: Six Senses Zighy Bay takes to the seas for its latest out-of-the-ordinary escapade. The recently refurbished Dhahab – meaning gold in Arabic – now offers one- or two-night voyages for the ultimate sea-hotel adventure.
Guests can discover the dramatic coastline and fjords of the Musandam (also known as the Norway of the Middle East) aboard a traditional, hand-crafted Omani dhow.
Once used by traders on epic voyages across the high seas, today, the dhow sets sail to the less-discovered side of Oman. From mornings exploring quaint fishing villages unaffected by the passing of time to afternoons cruising waters boasting some of the world’s most famous diving sites. The 90-foot (27.5-meter) vessel features three bedrooms and ensuite bathrooms to accommodate up to six people.
Dining experience
In line with the Eat With Six Senses philosophy, meals are prepared from locally sourced organic produce, incorporating fresh catch of the day. Morning and afternoon snacks are always available, alongside breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“Guests who prefer above-water activities can tour the fjords in kayaks (both single and twin), snorkel, hand-line fish, or perfect their tubing skills,” says general manager Andrew Spearman. “A selection of spa treatments by seasoned Six Senses Spa therapists, as well as fitness and morning yoga classes, can also be arranged on board the Dhahab.”
The voyage sails the waters around Haffa, Sanna’t, Lima, Charia, and Hamra, with tailor-made dive experiences to explore the colourful corals and sea creatures for novices and experts alike.
A Dhahab experience, including all meals and soft beverages, is priced from USD2,250 per person per night. Overnight Dhabab boat rental and crew without inclusions has a starting price of USD1,166 per person per night.
Six Senses Zighy Bay has also recently launched the “Stay and Cruise” offer, starting at USD7,250 per person. This includes four nights in the resort’s Pool Villa, daily breakfast at Spice Market, and one night on the Dhabab cruise. As part of the package, guests will enjoy a private chef on board, with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and soft drinks included, alongside non-motorized water sports at no extra charge. There are many other chargeable activities available on request, from spa treatments to water skiing.
To book one of these out-of-the-ordinary experiences, please e-mail [email protected] or call +968 2673 5555.
About Six Senses Zighy Bay
Six Senses Zighy Bay is located on the northern Musandam Peninsula in the Sultanate of Oman. The setting of 82 village-inspired pool villas is a spectacular bay guarded by the majestic Hajar Mountains and a private sandy beach. The adventure starts with an adrenaline-charged paraglide arrival into Zighy Bay, providing a stunning bird’s eye view of the resort.
SINGAPORE 19 September 2022: Princess Cruises has revealed a new ship platform that is the brand’s largest ship ever that will accommodate over 4,000 guests.
The new Sun Princess boasts stunning views, expansive venues, innovative entertainment venues, multi-story dining rooms and next-level stateroom accommodations while remaining true to the smooth, clean lines and design aesthetics inspired by the Seawitch icon and popularised in the original “Love Boat” TV series and returning the venerable “Sun Princess” name to the fleet.
Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard and scheduled to debut in early 2024, the 175,500-ton vessel is the largest Princess ship ever constructed and embraces Italian heritage by featuring a next-level, brand-iconic Piazza and The Dome, a cutting-edge entertainment space inspired by the terraces of Santorini. Sun Princess will also feature the exclusive Princess Medallion that will extend Princess’s leadership position in delivering exceptional personalised experiences at an unmatched scale. Princess is unique in the ability to deliver incredible cruise ship amenities typical of the largest ships in the world while delivering personalised service found on the industry’s smallest ships.
“Sun Princess is a new and bespoke ship platform, designed to simultaneously embrace Princess heritage while boldly pressing into the future with iconic, elegant and pure lines unique to our brand,” said Princess Cruises’ president John Padgett. “A show-stopping, first-of-its-kind Dome on the top deck and suspended glass Piazza in the centre of Sun Princess offer innovative designs showcasing expansive ocean views for incredible opportunities to connect with the sea.”
The cruise line also announced that Sun Princess will sail an inaugural spring/summer season of Mediterranean cruises followed by Western and Eastern Caribbean voyages out of Port Everglades, Florida, in the fall of 2024.
Innovative Guest Experience
Infused with light, the ship connects guests with dynamic views of the world and innovative experiences, from service to food to entertainment. The line’s Piazza spans three stories, forming an iconic architectural feature offering guests an outward-looking suspended space with comfortable seating and areas to enjoy the ocean views in every direction. An impressive LED screen is also showcased in the centre of the Piazza that can be moved and configured to deliver live entertainment programming. Adjacent to the Piazza Atrium will be a new coffee shop, Coffee Currents, Bellini’s Cocktail Bar, along with Princess favourites like Crooners Bar and Alfredo’s Pizzeria.
The other stand-out structure onboard Sun Princess is The Dome. Inspired by the terraces of Santorini, it is a multi-level covered deck and first-of-its-kind true glass-enclosed dome ever constructed on a cruise ship. During the day, the Dome features an indoor/outdoor pool, and unique water feature, in a comfortable and relaxed space. At night, the pool becomes a stage, and the Dome completely transforms into an entertainment venue with a South Beach vibe, state-of-the-art lighting effects and the ability to deliver stunning aerial performances.
The ship’s overall interior design embraces the outside and celebrates the romance of the sea, offering outward views from morning until night. With brighter and lighter décor and finishes, Sun Princess delivers more memorable vantage points to take in the stunning destinations, and ocean vistas guests want to experience on Princess cruise vacations.
Newly Appointed Suites and Staterooms
With 2,157 total staterooms, including 50 suites and 100 connecting rooms, the 21-deck Sun Princess features more outdoor balcony space, and all-balcony accommodations feature an in-room sofa.
Also launching exclusively on Sun Princess will be a new level of suite accommodations, the Signature Collection. In addition to premium stateroom amenities, Signature Collection suites include access to the Signature Restaurant, Signature Lounge, and Signature Sun Deck, a private area of the Sanctuary.
With Sun Princess, Club Class accommodations onboard this ship, and all Princess ships will now be called ‘Reserve Collection’, which describes the best-located mini-suite staterooms. The collection features Reserve Collection Cabana rooms, resort-style staterooms that offer a balcony and private cabana, and extra-large outdoor lounge space. These premium accommodations also include access to the Reserve Collection restaurant.
There are also sustainable elements being engineered in the vessel. Sun Princess is part of Carnival Corporation’s green cruising focus and is one of 11 new ships in the corporate fleet powered by LNG fuel technology.
The inaugural season for Sun Princess begins in early 2024 with Mediterranean itineraries. The ship’s first three voyages opened for bookings at 1500 eastern on Friday, 16 September 2022.
This is the third ship to be honoured with the Sun Princess name, adding to the legacy of the first ship sailing from 1974 to 1988 and the second ship sailing from 1995 to 2020. At that time, she had the largest number of balcony cabins and the cruise line’s first 24-hour cafe.
More details about Sun Princess, including additional dining details, entertainment and onboard features, will be unveiled over the coming months. Ship information can be found at www.princess.com.
A second, next-generation Sphere class ship is also on order, slated to be delivered by Fincantieri in spring 2025.
HONG KONG 19 September 2022: Cathay Pacific says its traffic figures for August reflect the positive impact of adjustments to the Hong Kong government’s travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, notably the mandatory hotel quarantine arrangement for inbound travellers.
Cathay Pacific carried 253,907 passengers last month, an increase of 87.6% compared to August 2021 but a 91.3% decrease compared to the pre-pandemic level in August 2019.
The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 82.7% year-on-year but were down 86.1% versus August 2019. Passenger load factor increased by 22.2 percentage points to 68.6%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 23.5% year-on-year but decreased by 83.8% compared with August 2019 levels. In the first eight months of 2022, passengers carried increased by 133.5% against a 1.6% increase in capacity and a 141.9% increase in RPKs, compared to the same period for 2021.
Travel
The airline’s chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam said: “We continued to see improved performance in our travel business in August. Average daily passenger numbers further increased month on month and exceeded 8,000. Passenger flight capacity increased 28% compared with July, although we still only operated about 16% of pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, the load factor remained high at close to 69%.
“Following the Hong Kong SAR Government’s adjustment to the hotel quarantine arrangement for travellers entering Hong Kong from 12 August, we observed an increase in inbound traffic to our home hub. This was particularly so for long-haul traffic from the US, Canada and Europe. Meanwhile, our passenger flight capacity to the Chinese Mainland remained restricted, although we were able to resume carrying passengers to Zhengzhou, Qingdao and Xiamen in August.
“Student traffic from the Chinese Mainland to the US represented a significant portion of our passenger traffic last month. On top of our existing services to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, we resumed flights to Chicago and Boston in August for the first time this year to cater to the strong demand. As a result, our US-bound flights managed 80% of load factors. Besides student traffic, our US routes were also boosted in the other direction by transit traffic travelling to Southeast Asia, resulting in greater connectivity from increased flight frequency.
Looking forward
Looking ahead, Lam noted that the Hong Kong SAR Government’s adjustments to the mandatory quarantine arrangements for locally based aircrew arriving in Hong Kong earlier this month. While we will continue to add back more flights as quickly as is feasible to strengthen the network connectivity of the Hong Kong aviation hub, this will still take time as we build operational readiness and undertake a substantial amount of training and aircraft reactivation.
“This, combined with other operational complexities, means that capacity can only be increased gradually over several months. As such, we are now projecting by the end of the year to be able to operate about one-third of our pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity – about double the passenger flight capacity we operated in August – and about two-thirds of our pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity. As the market and operating conditions further improve moving forward, we will aim to add back more flights where feasible.
“We expect demand to remain solid going into the fourth quarter. Transit traffic between the Americas and Southeast Asia, and India is anticipated to be strong. In contrast, traffic between Australia, New Zealand and other parts of our network is also expected to increase.
“As more regional destinations such as Japan continue to adjust their inbound travel policies, we will continue to monitor demand and adjust our passenger flight capacity accordingly. We intend to add about 200 pairs of passenger flights in October, primarily to regional destinations such as Osaka, Seoul (Incheon), Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Manila, and also to long-haul destinations such as Vancouver, Sydney and Melbourne.
KUALA LUMPUR, 19 September 2022: On the back of positive recovery signs, Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) has revised its tourist arrivals target upwards to 9.2 million in 2022.
It’s almost the same target adopted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand which is pitching for 10 million visits this year, a figure the private sector says is overly ambitious.
Malaysia bases its optimism on tourist arrivals that reached 3.21 million representing an income of around MYR9.35 billion from January to July this year. The country’s borders reopened to visitors on 1 April.
According to a statement by YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, based on present achievements, MOTAC has revised the target for tourist arrivals and income to reach 9.2 million with a financial value of MYR26.8 billion.
MOTAC is confident that the country’s tourism sector can be restored immediately to ensure it is one of the main contributors to its income.
In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down tourism globally in early 2020, Malaysia recorded 26.1 million travellers who contributed an income of MYR86.1 billion.
