South East Asia Cruise Holidays
The region has long been a popular getaways for those wanting to enjoy a different culture and way of life but unlike in the backpackers heyday of the 60’s and 70’s, you can now explore the very best of what the region has to offer whilst onboard a luxurious cruise ship, with all of the comforts of home.
The whole continent has seen huge population growth over the last century and that is especially true for the south eastern parts of it and that has led to huge contrasts found throughout the region.
Huge metropolises full of skyscrapers sit close to small villages that still rely on traditional methods to live and survive and the urban jungle sits alongside the rainforest, allowing visitors to see the best of both on the same day on shore.
The region development has been built mainly on the sea trade, something which has led to many ports capable of welcoming cruise ships been located in or near to some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations and that makes, in our option, a cruise holiday in South East Asia the best option for those wanting to explore more of what the region has to offer.
This page brings you all that you need to know to make the most of your time ashore or if you are yet to book a cruise, it helps you to decide on whether a cruise of South East Asia is right for you and if so, where you should visit.
Follow the links on this page for more information on the countries offering cruise ports of call.
Cruises To South East Asia
Finding the perfect cruise to South East Asia for you and your family has never been simpler. All you need to do is use the following search box to see what is available and if you are unsure on any of the ports listed in the cruise itineraries, simply follow the links in this guide to get all of the information you could ever need.
Cruise Holidays in South East Asia
If you have always wanted to visit Southeastern Asia on holiday, it can be difficult to decide not just which city/resort to head to but even which country to go to and for many that can put you off from going there.
Nobody wants to save up, spend a huge amount of money on a dream holiday only to find out that the destination that they chose just wasn’t right for them.
The reality is often different from what the holiday brochures so us, so you can never be sure of what your chosen destination is like until you get there but even if have lots of friends who have visited the region and you have a good insight into where to go to, that can be a problem in itself.
That is because there are so many fantastic destinations on offer but you can help both of those problems by taking a cruise holiday in southeast Asia.
Not only do you then get to see lots of the regions and enjoy many of the great destinations found there but if you find a port not to your liking, you simply get back onboard your chosen ship and head to the next one.
South East Asian Cruise Guide
Here at CruiseHols, we have written guides to all of the major cruse ports in Asia and bring you all that you need to know to decide whether you want to visit the port or not and if you do, how you can make the most of your time onshore.
Popular Ports
There are lots of fantastic cruise ports in the region with Singapore, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and the nearby Hong Kong all offering great fly cruise options.
Amongst the most popular ports of call for those wanting to enjoy a day onshore to remember are Benoa (Bali), Penang, Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Phuket, Jakarta, Langkawi, Malacca and Nha Trang (for Ho Chi Ming City).
South East Asian Cruise Destinations
There are numerous fantastic destinations found across the whole region with most countries in Southeast Asia having large coastline, numerous ports and many opportunities to visit onboard a cruise ship.
For this page, we have broken down the main ports of call into the countries that they are based in but if you would like our full guide to each of the ports available to visitors in the region, simply follow the links below for the port by port breakdown in each country.
The Sultanate of Brunei is one of the smallest nations in the region and it is therefore not too much of a surprise that only a few cruise ships call in their every year.
If you do want to visit, it will likely have to be onboard a smaller and more luxurious cruise ship.
The port of Sihanoukville welcomes cruise ships from many of the world’s biggest cruise lines and whilst the container port is relatively remote for those wanting to explore on their own, there are plenty of excursions to make the most of your visit.
The vast archipelago of Indonesia has it all when it comes to a Southeast Asia cruise including huge cities, jungle escapes and beautiful beach resorts and many of them can be easily visited onboard a cruise holiday.
There a few ports capable of hosting cruise ships but the majority will visit either the historic city of Malacca or Port Klang, which is billed as Kuala Lumpur as the country’s capital city is around an hour away.
The majority of cruise ships heading to the Philippines will stop at the nation’s capital city of Manilla but that lack of options isn’t a problem as the city offers an incredible day on shore.
Singapore is not only one of our favourites destinations on the continent but in the world as the futuristic city offers all you could want from a holiday.
Thankfully, many itineraries include an overnight stay onboard your ship whilst docked in the city state which allows you to take in even more of what is on offer.
Both the east and west coasts of the country can be visited on a cruise holiday and that gives plenty of options for visitors. Laem Chabang, near to Bangkok, offers a wide range of itineraries starting or ending there and both that port and Phuket are offered as port of calls on most cruises in the south of the region.
The port of Nha Trang offers a great base to explore the country including visiting its nearby capital city.
Popular Cruise Lines
South East Asia
Location: South East Eurasia / Pacific Ocean
Major Cities: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Hanoi
Currency: Multiple
Language: Multiple
Demonym(s): South East Asian
Top Ports: Singapore, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Benoa (Bali), Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City)
South East Asia location to the south of China, to the west of South Asia and across the Pacific Ocean from Oceania allows not just for fantastic itineraries in the region itself but for repositioning cruises to the surrounding areas.
There is lots to interest visitors to Asia in terms of what is on offer but the region itself is a fascinating one as it is an incredibly active region seismically and volcanically and it also sits astride of the equator, giving visitors onboard a cruise ship to the chance to travel across it.
Over much of the last century, the region has grown closer together, thanks in part to 10 countries joining together to from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and whilst that has led to a lot of benefits to those living in the region, it has also made the region much more open and hospitability to the tourism trade.
For us based in the west, the region is often lumped together and thought of as quite similar but for those who have visited the region, you will know that just isn’t the case with not only just huge differences between the countries but also in the regions of those countries.
There are a number of metropolis’ found in the region with the likes of Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur offering the chance to enjoy the sprawling streets of a massive modern city and visit the many shopping centres, restaurants, museums, attractions all whilst been surrounded by high rises and skyscrapers.
Then you have fantastic islands offering the chance to head to the beach and sunbath on idyllic white sandy beaches with the likes of Bali hugely popular.
Finally, if nature and the natural beauty of the regional jungle and rainforests are what are the major draw for you, these can also be a easily enjoyed from a cruise ship including destinations such as Phuket making it straight forward.
The history, culture and spiritualism of the region has long been a major draw for tourists and for those heading there for those, several ports offer that opportunity including the likes of Penang, Phuket and Nha Trang allow you to take in all that makes the region so unique.
There is also the chance to enjoy once in a life time experience when visiting the region including a visit to the Komodo Islands, home of the iconic and almost mythical Komodo Dragon.
Best Time To Visit
There are cruise ships that home port in the region and therefore can be cruised upon all year around but the majority of ships that sail around the Southeast Asian coastlines head there during the northern hemisphere winter.
It is then when we recommend visiting the region if you are heading there are ships from Europe and the west coast of America head there to take advantage of the warmer weather found year around near to the equator.
South East Asia Cruises From The UK
Whilst it is possible to visit the region on a cruise directly from the UK, they are few and far between and you will also need lots of time and money as the options available are World Cruises.
Thankfully, there are a numerous turnaround cruise ports in the region that have direct flight connections to a number of airports in the UK and plenty of options to fly from your nearest airport with a connection.
South East Asia Cruises From Southampton
If you do want to head to South East Asia onboard a cruise from the UK, it will be from either the port of Southampton or Dover but the vast majority will fly to a port such as Singapore or Laem Chabang.
Here at CruiseHols.co.uk we bring you all of the information you will ever need to choose the right cruise destination for you and your family.
Our destination guides include everything from ports to attractions and excursion to the positives and negatives of the destination.
