KOTA KINABALU: Singapore’s Diamond Princess made its first stop in Sabah today, cruising in with 3,806 international tourists and crew members on board.
Princess Cruises Southeast Asia said the Diamond Princess is making its debut in Kota Kinabalu for the first time in its homeporting season for 2016-2017 in Southeast Asia.
According to Farriek Tawfik, Princess Cruises Southeast Asia director, the company has been exploring possibilities to include Kota Kinabalu into its cruise itinerary thanks to Sabah’s natural beauty and exotic cultural elements.
“We are venturing here because the Malaysian government has identified Kota Kinabalu as one of the three ports in the country that has significant potential to attract more visitors.
“Princess Cruises is answering this call by bringing in inbound tourists to experience first-hand Kota Kinabalu’s many historical landmarks and attractions in our specially curated shore excursions.”
Speaking to reporters during a media briefing, Farriek said the move to make Sabah as one of its port of call was planned about three years ago.
“We took two to three years to explore and do our research on what Kota Kinabalu has to offer and (realised) that there is a big potential.
“This also included ensuring that the port facilities met our needs,” he said, adding that the cruise liner also hopes to attract passengers from Sabah.
The liner sailed from Singapore on Nov 29 and docked at Kota Kinabalu at 12pm today. Diamond Princess, which spans 290-metre in length and rises as tall as 61-metre, can accommodate 2,706 passengers with a crew strength of 1,100.
Throughout its 2016-2017 sailing period, the cruise ship is scheduled to make four stops at Kota Kinabalu.
The ship will dock for about seven hours before continuing on its journey and sailing off to Vietnam.
During the stopover today, the media and representatives from the tourism sectors were given the opportunity to tour the ship.
Also present during the tour were Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, Sabah Parks chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mohamood, and Sabah Ports director Datuk Karim Bujang.