Penang Cruise Port

Penang, Malaysia

Penang is a state in Malaysia that is split into two separate areas, Penang Island and Seberang Perai which is on the Malay Peninsula, or the Malaysian mainland.

Whilst there is a couple of bridges that connect the two, from a cruising point of view, Penang relates to the island of Penang as it is in the island’s capital city of George Town where ships dock and where the vast majority of cruisers will spend their time.

It is the island of Penang that this review is focussed on, it is on the island that I spent all of my time whilst visiting Penang and it is the island of Penang that features all of the tourist attracts awaiting those that visit there.

If you love authentic Asian street food, street art, nature and been able to stroll form your ship and set off exploring, Penang could be just the port for you as it offers all of that and so much more.

Cruises To Penang

Our Visit

I visited the island of Penang with my wife on a repositioning cruise sailing between Singapore and Mumbai onboard the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship in November 2024.

I was lucky enough to have an overnight stay in George Town, including an early morning arrival on the first day and a late afternoon departure on the second day, which gave us plenty of time to explore all that is on offer.

We decided to split our time in Penang into two with the first day spent travelling to Penang Hill and the outskirts of town whilst the second day, we would spend it exploring the capital city of George Town.

Thankfully, getting around the city and island is straightforward as there is plentiful bus network that takes you everywhere you need to go, so with that in mind, we walk from the cruise terminal, along the Weld Quay coastal road and to the nearby bus station.

There we bought a travel pass which got us unlimited travel for the whole time we were in port and jumped on the next bus to lower funicular station for a trip up to the top of the impressive Penang Hill.

We paid extra for the VIP ticket for the funicular which allowed us to jump the large queue, so we were quickly heading up the incredibly steep hill to the top of Penang Hill.

The former British hill station has now been turned into a popular tourist attraction where you can simply enjoy the incredible views looking back down over George Town and across to the Malaysian mainland or you can pay extra to enjoy some visitor attractions.

That was just what me and my wife did as we paid to visit the Habitat, which is an area of the hill that allows you to enjoy a walk through the rainforest, see some of the wildlife that lives up there and also enjoy a walk across a long bridge and views from an impressive tree top viewing platform.

After walking around the many paths of the Habitat and enjoying lunch at their café, we would walk around the main plaza at the top of the hill, visited the small museum showcasing an old train and then headed back to the funicular station, where we once again jumped the large queue.

After enjoying the ride back down the hill, from which you get incredible views if you have a front facing vantage point, we visited the gift shop at the lower station and then walked back to the bus stop to jump on the same bus number but this time we would get off at Komtar Utara.

We would then walk around the streets towards the impressive Kek Lok Si temple, which is arguably one of the most iconic temples in Malaysia and a highlight of a visit to the island for many.

The massive temple complex is built into the hill side, and you actually have to take a couple of small funiculars and a golf kart to get from the bottom of the temple up to the very top but there is plenty to see along the way.

Whilst an incredible place to visit, it has sadly become very commercial, with a number of different gift shops and it is actually more impressive from a distance.

After a couple of hours there, we walked back to the main road and to the bus stop to get the next bus back into the centre of George Town where we planned to alight near to the impressive skyscraper known as The Top, which offers the chance to visit a roof top area offering some attractions and great views but sadly it was now raining and it was closed for the rest of the day.

The weather also impacted our plans to enjoy tea at the night time Kimberley Street food market, something I was looking forward to as it is one of the more famous street food markets in the region, as although we walked down it, the rain stopped many stalls opening and we gave up, jumped on the bus once more and went back to the ship.

The next day, we would walk through the back streets of George Town to take in some of the street art on offer all around it.

There is a self-guided walk that you can do via an art map and whilst we used that as a reference, there was just too many to take in, so we would make sure we saw the most impressive ones and fit in others around seeing others landmarks of the city, starting with the iconic Penang Clan Jetties.

These are historic wooden jetties that have been inhabited by different clans of Chinese settlers over the years and whilst there is certainly a touristy element to them nowadays, they are still living active communities where people live and work.

After taking in some more of the street art on offer, head the Armenia Street area to see some historic houses, grab some lunch and enjoy a bit of shopping before visiting some religious buildings including the Kapitan Keling Mosque, the Sri Maha Mariamman temple and the Goddess of Mercy temple on our way to the colonial district.

Here you will find the governmental buildings of the city including the courthouse, the town hall, the city hall and a remembrance statue as well as Fort Cornwallis, an 18th century bastion fort.

From there it was a short walk along a modern promenade back to the cruise port entrance and back onto the ship in time for a late lunch and to get ready for departure.

Penang Cruise Guide

If you are trying to decide whether a cruise itinerary visiting Penang is one you should book, or if you have already booked a cruise calling into Penang and want to make the most of your time on shore, this is the guide for you.

Type of Cruises Available

Although it certainly has the terminal building to do so and a ferry service does operate from it, there are currently no turnaround facilities offered to cruise ships in Penang, so that means it only operates as a port of call.

There are plenty of options for those wanting to visit there however including both short and long round trips from ports such as Singapore and Bangkok, whilst there are plenty of repositioning offerings including from the likes of Tokyo, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

For me, the best option is to book an itinerary with an overnight stay as there is just so much to see and do whilst in port and as is the case for many Asian cruise ports, they come alive on an evening

Penang Cruise Port Location

Cruise ships arrive on the east coast of Penang Island, at the impressive Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal, which can host up two large cruise ships at the same time.

The cruise pier is just a short walk from the famous Clan Jetties of Penang, a few minutes from the city centre and right next to Fort Cornwallis which makes it a great location for those who love to walk from the ship and set off exploring.

There is a car park in front of the cruise terminal where shore excursion coaches will pick up and if you turn right out of the cruise port exit, you will walk along the city’s esplanade to the colonial district whilst a left turn will take you along the Weld Quay coastal road.

Penang Cruise Facilities

All cruise ships arriving at the island with either dock at the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal or drop anchor close by and tender to there.

The cruise pier itself can welcome 2 large cruise ships at a time, so you will more and likely dock there and no matter which side of the pier you dock on, all guests will walk out through the central building of the terminal.

In their there is a seating area, some shops, security, toilets and a tourist information desk, so pretty much everything that you need for a cruise terminal.

Despite walking out of the terminal and into a car park which exits onto Weld Quay and close to a bus stop, you then have to walk into another building, walk through it and past many locals trying to sell you tours and taxis before popping out once again close to the Cornwallis Fortress and Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower on Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah street.

Penang Attractions

Penang is a popular holiday island, not just for those from Malaysia but for people from across the world thanks to its international airport, so it will be no surprise that there are plenty of attractions awaiting visitors there.

The historic Clan Jetties are one of the highlights of a visit there and are just a short stroll from the cruise port.

As you would expect, these are wooden jetties that stick out into the sea but unlike other similar structures, these are where people live and work.

Their name comes from the fact that they are where Chinese settlers first lived, with each jetty housing one of the historic ‘clans’ of the country.

Each has its own unique look and feel, with some been commercial, some been simply where people live, and some been spiritual in nature, but each is worth visiting.

As already mentioned, a more modern attraction and one that is completely free to enjoy is to grab an art walk map and simply walk around the city and enjoying it street art.

Some of these are small paintings on the side of a building, some are wire sculptures and some are impressive 3d pieces of art but no matter which you like or how many you see, it is a great way to explore the city and make the miles of walking fly by.

If you don’t mind exploring, jumping on a bus just like me and my wife did, allows you to head to the Penang Hill Funicular for a day exploring the numerous hilltop attractions.

Not only do you get a fun ride just to get to the top of the hill and a great view over George Town and the surrounding area but you can enjoy numerous nature trails, a small museum dedicated to the funicular, a skywalk with incredible views, an art gallery, a small village, an earthquake and typhoon experience, a mosque, a fort, numerous cafes and restaurants and of the course the impressive Habitat, amongst other things.

Local buses will also take you to the impressive Kek Lok Si Temple, a Buddhist temple in the Air Itam district of George Town which is one of the biggest temples me and my wife have ever visited.

It is one of the most famous attractions on Penang and is well worth visiting as not only is it a working Buddhist temple where you can experience life as a monk, but you get incredible views of the city from its hill side location.

Built in 1891, the temple has constantly been expanded to where it is now a vast complex including many different gardens, a pagoda and a giant statue of both Buddha and Guanyin, for which you have to take some interesting lift like funiculars to go between the different levels.

Back in George Town itself, there are a number of different museums that you can visit including the Peranakan Mansion which gives an insight into the life of wealthy families in the city.

Another similar museum is the Cheong Fatt Tze, which is a large mansion that you can explore, there is an upside-down museum which is great for those travelling with children whilst there are many historic temples, mosques and churches that can be visited.

A modern skyscraper offers plenty of kid friendly attractions and a great viewing platform call ‘The Top’, which also offers some white-knuckle attractions at the top of it for adults, including a obstacle course on the outside of the top of the building and a glass walkway.

Many of the streets in the city are attractions in their own right including the impressive Armenia Street which houses some of the best historic buildings in the city and a beautiful temple.

A big attraction for many visiting Asia is the chance to enjoy its thriving street food scene and there is plenty of opportunities to do just that in George Town with many day and night markets including the famous Kimberley Street market.

Right across from the cruise terminal is the historic Fort Cornwallis which is now a visitor attraction, and you can also walk along the cities esplanade right form the cruise terminal exit to the Colonial district to see some of the city’s most impressive architecture.

Penang Shorex

There are lots of excursions available for those visiting the city but for those who prefer not to head out on public transport or grab a taxi outside the cruise terminal, one of the easiest is to simply to book on a city tour.

That allows you to see the best of what Penang has to offer and is a great option for those with mobility issues.

Another similar option is to take a coach trip to some of the more historic parts of the city, such as Little India and Armenia Street, which often give you some free time to explore those areas on your own.

On the other side of the island is the impressive Entopia which is an attraction dedicated to butterflies and creepy crawlies which is as informative as it is interesting and makes for a great option for those who are travelling with kids or who want to explore more of the island as you drive through the rainforest and coastal roads of Penang.

As mentioned already, there are many religious and spiritual sites on the island and many of the these can be visited on a Temples and Churches tour of the island.

It is also possible to book an excursion to visit Penang Hill although it should be said that I would recommend against this and do it on your own as you still have to take the funicular with everybody else and the people we met on the hill on an excursion were complaining at how rushed it all was, whilst me and my wife could go at our own pace.

The exact same thing can be said about shore excursions to Kek Lok Si, as those we met there on a shore ex had to leave before reaching the upper level as they just didn’t have the time to take it all in.

Best Time To Visit Penang

It is possible to visit Penang all year around although the main cruise season is between November and April, and it is during that period that I would recommend visiting.

Not only do you get a wider range of itineraries, but you also have more ships and lines to choose from as ships arrive from Europe and North America to enjoy the warmer waters of the Malayan Peninsula.

Transport

There are plenty of options for those wanting to explore Penang but for me, you need look no further than the cities expansive bus network.

You can travel unlimited for just a few Pounds, Dollars or Euros and you can visit just about every tourist area of the island.

If you prefer to sit back and be driver around, there are plenty of taxis and tuk-tuks waiting for you outside of the cruise terminal exit and there are pedicab style bike rides awaiting you in most tourist areas.

If you want to head up the Penang Hill, there is a modern funicular making it straightforward and if you want to head across to the mainland, there are ferries operating from near the cruise terminal to Seberang Perai.

Penang Cruises From UK

If you want to visit Penang directly from the UK, it is actually possible although you will need to be on either a World Cruise or on a long repositioning cruise where ships are moving from the UK to somewhere like Australia.

Penang Cruises From Southampton

If you do have the huge budget and plenty of time to be able to do one of the above cruisers, the chances are that it will set sail from the United Kingdom’s leading cruise port of Southampton.