Star Cruises voted as “Asia’s Leading Cruise Line” at World Travel Awards for second consecutive year

Star Cruises has been voted by travel and tourism professionals around the globe as the “Asia’s Leading Cruise Line” at World Travel Awards 2013 for the second consecutive year. Mr. Naresh Rawal, Vice President, Sales, Star Cruises (third from right) and Mr. Manvendra Singh Vaghela, Assistant Vice President, Sales, Star Cruises (third from left) accept the award trophy from World Travel Awards President Mr. Graham E Cooke (middle) last night in Dubai.

Dubai / Hong Kong, 2 October, 2013 - Star Cruises, the leading cruise line in Asia-Pacific, has once again been voted by travel and tourism professionals around the globe as “Asia’s Leading Cruise Line” at World Travel Awards 2013.

Acclaimed as “the Oscars of the travel industry”, World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge and recognize excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. The awards were voted by travel professionals worldwide. At the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2013 held at Anantara Dubai The Palm Resort & Spa in Dubai yesterday, Star Cruises was hailed as “Asia’s Leading Cruise Line” among many top players of the industry in attendance.  

“We’re honoured to receive this award for the second time in consecutive years and are delighted that it coincides with our 20^th anniversary. This award recognizes our contribution in promoting the development of cruise tourism in Asia-Pacific and our commitment to providing world-class cruise services and products,” said Mr William Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Star Cruises.

“Twenty years ago Star Cruises started with only one ship. Now it is the biggest cruise line in Asia-Pacific. This is a validation of our vision for the future of cruising in this region. We believe we understand Asian cruisers better than others, and our “freestyle” concept and unique world-class hospitality with an Asian touch are what distinguish us from the rest. We’re grateful for the support from industry professionals and travellers around the world. We’ll carry this momentum into the future as we keep building on our existing homeport markets in Penang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Keelung as well as our upcoming homeports in Sanya and Kota Kinabalu. We will continue to work closely with respective governments, travel trade and tourism boards to make every journey a voyage of discovery and surprise for our valued passengers.”

The win comes in the year of Star Cruises’ 20^th anniversary, which marks the maiden voyage of Star Aquarius from Singapore in December 1993. As the pioneer of cruising in Asia, Star Cruises has not rested on its laurels. Understanding customers’ changing taste and travel and leisure trend has been its key to success.

Looking ahead, SuperStar Aquarius will begin homeporting in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah for the first time in early November after completing her seasonal deployment in Keelung. Her new itineraries will take passengers to Muara in Brunei and Bintulu in Sarawak.

Starting in November, SuperStar Gemini will be relocated to Sanya after her successful first deployment in Shanghai. Star Cruises is offering four special Xiamen-based itineraries during SuperStar Gemini’s relocation. She will sail cross-strait to Taiwanese destinations and Hong Kong. Both SuperStar Gemini and SuperStar Aquarius will soon call into Manila and Boracay in the Philippines for the first time, in October and November respectively.

World Travel Awards’ Asia & Australasia Ceremony 2013 in Dubai yesterday was the sixth leg of the awards’ Grand Tour. The annual event is a global search for the world’s leading travel brands. Norwegian Cruise Line, another premier brand of Genting Hong Kong, was voted “Europe’s Leading Cruise Line” for six consecutive years as well as “World’s Leading Large Ship Cruise Line”.