Port Klang Cruise Port

Port Klang, Malaysia

If you are visiting Malaysia on a cruise ship, the chances are that you will dock at Port Klang but for some it won’t feature on their itinerary and for some you may think that you are in the wrong place when you wake up.

That is because many cruise lines bill the port as Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, or even as Klang, the historic capital of Selangor, but cruise ships not only don’t dock in either of those places, or actually in the main part of Port Klang itself but they dock on an island known as Pulau Indah.

That makes it a tough port for those who love to simply walk from their ship and set off exploring but with plenty of upsides as well, is Port Klang a cruise port worth visiting and just what are the options for those visiting there?

Cruises To Port Klang

Our Visit

I was fortunate enough to visit Port Klang in November 2024 onboard the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship, on a repositioning cruise between Singapore and Mumbai.

As the majority of the ship seemingly did, I book a shuttle between the port and Kuala Lumpur, which is around an hour away, and that simply dropped me and my wife off in the centre of KL for a few hours of exploring.

Kuala Lumpur is an incredible city that I had already visited, so I stayed relatively central and just went back to some places we liked spending time in, such as the KLCC and visited a couple of new sights including the Saloma Link Bridge.

If you have never visited Kuala Lumpur, it is a great city to explore on your own as it has a vast, clean and cheap metro system made up of buses, trains, an underground metro system and even monorails.

Port Klang Cruise Guide

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

Type of Cruises Available

When it comes to visiting Port Klang on a cruise, there are two main options that are available.

Firstly, you can do a round trip from a port in the region that cruises the Malayan Peninsula, with Singapore offering the most options by far.

The next option is to visit their onboard a repositioning cruise that is either sailing around the region, sail from Southeast Asia and across the Indian Ocean or that sail around the Peninsula and either north towards Bangkok, Tokyo or Hong Kong or south towards Bali or Australia.

To do either of those, you can often book your getaway as a cruise only option, a fly cruise or a cruise and stay getaway.

Port Klang Cruise Port Location

The vast majority of cruise ships will dock at the impressive Port Klang Cruise Terminal (PKCT), which h as already mentioned is on an island just a few metres from Port Klang itself.

Unfortunately, the area around the terminal is industrial and visitors will need to take a shuttle from the island to the mainland and over to Port Klang itself.

It should be said that Port Klang and the city of Klang are separate places, so if you have done research and want to head to the historic Klang, you will need to take a taxi there as it is around 5 miles away.

The cruise terminal sits in a small channel between the islands of Pulau Che Mat Zin and Pulau Indah which makes for a fascinating arrival as one side of channel is home to one of the world’s largest commercial ports and you sail within metres of some of the biggest ships in the world, whilst the other side has been left alone and is still home to mangrove forests and small rivers.

Port Klang Cruise Facilities

If you do dock at the cruise terminal, it offers all that you could need including a sheltered walkway, toilets, a small shop, a tourist information desk and tour providers.

The building itself is an impressive and there is a large car park offering plenty of space for shore excursion coaches, taxis and private tour operators to meet you.

Unfortunately, it can be the case that ships cannot dock at the cruise terminal, which is what happened to us me when I visited Port Klang, and that left the ship having to dock at a container port, called West Port, which has no facilites aside from some room for coaches to either take you off on excursion or shuttle buses to take you to the port gate.

Port Klang Attractions

Port Klang is an industrial area full of warehouses to service the huge port and as such there are no attractions in the port.

It is home to a train station, which offers regular services to Kaula Lumpur and the surrounding area, but you will need to take a taxi ride to get to it but aside from that, there are a few local shops, a small shopping centre but these are aimed at locals and not visitors.

Port Klang Shorex

This is the main reason for most ships to visit the port as it offers relatively easy access to the incredible city of Kuala Lumpur, or simply KL as most locals know it.

Most lines will offer relatively cheap options for getting there, including a simple shuttle service such as the one that I did.

Other options include a best of Kuala Lumpur style option that takes you on a tour of the main sights of the city and will also often give you some spare time to explore some of the more popular areas, including the KLCC, where the iconic Petronas Towers are.

Another popular option is to take a coach ride to the outskirts of the city to visit the impressive Batu Caves, a religious site that is somewhere I have visited in the past and is well worth going there but I would recommend going into the dark cave as well as the main cave.

Many of those who visit the port will likely have heard of Royal Selangor, the pewter company, but few might know that they are based in this part of Malaysia, which is actually the state of Selangor.

The company’s traditional factory offers a museum and tours which can be visited on a shore excursion, but there is also a large shop close to where coaches drop you off in Kuala Lumpur for those who just want to look at their product or a buy a treat for themselves.

Other option that are available to visitors include private tours of the region to take in the historic Klang, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor whilst you can also visit the popular Sunway Lagoon waterpark.

Best Time To Visit Port Klang

Although you can visit the port all year around, it is best to visit in the peak season between October and April, where there is a much wider range of itineraries onboard a wider range of ships and lines.

That is because many ships head there from North America or Europe to take advantage of the warm weather during the northern hemisphere winter.

Transport

If you do want to head off an explore the region on your own the best option is to pre-book a private tour, although there are some taxis available from the main cruise terminal.

Aside from that, you are best to book a shore excursion to go to anywhere you want to go to or a shuttle to just head to KL and explore on your own.

Port Klang Cruises From UK

If you want to visit the port directly from the United Kingdom, it is possible, but you will either need to be on a World Cruise or on a long repositioning cruise between the UK and Australia.

Port Klang Cruises From Southampton

If you do have the budget and time needed to do either of those two options, the widest range of options will be from the UK’s leading cruise port of Southampton.