Tagged: Philippines

The Philippines, which was named Asia’s best cruise destination last year, has launched a special visa waiver program, making it easier for cruise tourists to enter and travel the country. (more…)

Two cruise ships from China docked at the port of Subic Bay this week, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT) Central Luzon office. (more…)

Hundreds of tourists from cruise ships flocked to Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) and Ilocos region several days before and until the end of the Holy Week break, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported yesterday. (more…)

Cruise ships, just like airlines, are down these days because of the pandemic. People around the world are not travelling because of the strict requirements at airports about visitors possibly carrying the coronavirus. (mb.com.ph)

From the balcony of her cabin, Sofia Ivanov* welcomes the light rain that cools the scorching Manila summer. As coronavirus empties the world’s cruise lines of guests, crew workers like her get to use the luxurious guest rooms before they lose their jobs. (theguardian.com)

In the past few weeks, Manila Bay in the Philippines has been transformed into the world’s biggest parking lot for cruise ships, none of which have any guests. More than 20 vessels collectively weighing about 2 million tonnes are clustered off the coast of the capital. (reuters.com)

Operations have begun at the upgraded Ilocos Cruise Port near the northern tip of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. Over the holidays, Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas made her maiden call at the terminal as part of a weeklong Japan-Philippines-Hong Kong itinerary. (maritime-executive.com)

The Philippines, a country of more than 7,600 islands where you’re rarely more than a few miles from the sea, wants a bigger slice of Asia’s growing cruise-tourism industry. For years the Southeast Asian nation has lagged behind its neighbors in attracting cruise visitors, partly because of spotty infrastructure. (bloomberg.com)

In 2019, Royal Caribbean will be bringing their new Spectrum of the Seas to Subic Bay and Salomague while Costa Cruises will be making more frequent calls as well. “As a new player, we’ve been performing well and consistently, attracting more calls,” says Gina Marie Esmaña, Head of the Cruise Team at the Philippines Department of Tourism. (aseancruising.com)

Philippines’ Boracay shows a good example of how to regulate potential overcrowding by cruise ships. The idea to offer alternative ports of call is smart, as it promotes new destinations and spreads tourism benefits to other places. (skift.com)

The country’s cruise tourism industry needs to attract a good mix of expedition ships and bigger cruise ships in a bid to achieve a sweet spot between revenue and headcount, an official of the Department of Tourism (DOT) said. (philstar.com)

The Philippine government is considering reducing the number of port calls international cruise lines make to Boracay Island. The island was closed for around six months for rehabilitation which affected tourism as a whole, as Boracay has been dubbed by many international publications as ‘one of the best island in the world’. (aseancruising.com)

Iloilo City is now 100 percent ready for the arrival of Japanese cruise ship MV Pacific Venus on January 26, 2019, in time for the Iloilo Dinagyang Festival. MV Pacific Venus with 183 meters in length will dock at Iloilo International Port, Loboc, Lapuz, Iloilo City in the morning of January 26 and will leave in the afternoon of the following day. (thedailyguardian.net)

With world-famous Boracay Island opening its doors to tourists again in three months, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced that international cruise ships will also revisit the country’s most popular beach destination. (news.mb.com.ph)

Royal Caribbean has diverted its popular megaship, Ovation of the Seas, from a Boracay port call as the Philippines Government closed the popular island to tourism. Several cruise lines have taken avoiding action after the President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure because of pollution problems. (aseancruising.com)

Subic Bay, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines is fast becoming a popular cruise destination with lines like Royal Caribbean and Costa Cruises sending ships to this untouched part of Southeast Asia. (aseancruising.com)

Groomed to be one of Asia’s top international cruise destinations, the Philippines is seeing increasing interest from cruise lines as it boosts infrastructure to support international vessels. (maritime-executive.com)

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) is moving forward with the National Cruise Tourism Development Strategy completed earler this year with assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). (cruisebusiness.com)

Japanese cruise ship Pacific Venus arrived at the port of Manila at around 8 a.m. on Sunday, making it the 21st international cruise vessel to dock at the Manila port this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said. (lifestyle.mb.com.ph)

Ati-atihan dancers with their rhythmic drumming welcomed more than 2,700 Chinese tourists and crew of a cruise ship that stopped over briefly on Boracay yesterday. The Legend of the Seas was the first cruise ship to visit the Philippines since President Duterte took office on July 1. (globalnation.inquirer.net)

The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects cruise tourism to exceed the port calls in 2015 as the agency continues to expand avenues amid air connectivity issues in the country. (philstar.com)

The Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) is fast becoming a top destination for international cruise ships, the latest of which is the luxury cruising vessel MS Seabourn Sojourn that docked on April 6 near the islands. (newsinfo.inquirer.net)

The department of Tourism is in talks with some of the biggest cruise companies in the world as it seeks to position the Philippines as a global cruise ship destination. (business.inquirer.net)