KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Hong Kong’s wholly-owned subsidiary Star Cruises has become the first international cruise line to homeport (assign a ship to a port as its home) in the Philippines.

In a statement, Star Cruises said the Philippines officially welcomed Star Cruises, whose tagline is “Most Popular Cruise Line in Asia”, on Sunday when the 13-storey, 935-cabin SuperStar Virgo arrived in Manila to begin her inaugural homeport deployment there.
 
A special ceremony was held at Manila South Harbour, attended by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea as the guest of honour, representing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, together with Secretary Wanda Corazon Tulfo-Teo from the Philippine Department of Tourism.

Genting Group executive director Hui Lim said: “It is our honour to call Manila SuperStar Virgo’s new homeport for the next few months. As an important market for Star Cruises and the cruise line brands under Genting Cruise Lines, it is our goal to continue to support the country’s tourism industry here in the Philippines and across the region.”

On Genting’s history with the Philippines, Lim noted that Star Cruises was the first major cruise line to recruit Filipinos for its vessels 24 years ago and Genting developed Resorts World Manila in partnership with Alliance Global Group.

After the ceremony, more than 2,000 passengers set sail on board SuperStar Virgo for her debut 6-day/5-night cruise itinerary departing from Manila, with stops in Laoag, the capital of Ilocos Norte, Philippines, Kaohsiung, the largest southern port city in Taiwan, and Hong Kong, a bustling metropolis world famous for shopping, dining, entertainment and nightlife.

SuperStar Virgo will return for another season of cruising from Manila in December this year, calling at ports in the Philippines, as well as other popular Asian destinations such as Kota Kinabalu, Brunei, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Okinawa (Japan) and other ports of call.