Top 10 Cruise Lines For Asian Adventures
I have done a mixture of long and short breaks and land holidays and cruises, so I have a decent idea of what can be enjoyed in each country.
On my recent cruise there, the trickiest thing was to narrow down the line and itinerary I wanted to sail with, which led to plenty of research on my behalf and that is what this list is based on. There are plenty of things to take into account when deciding the best line to cruise within any region.
Lots of those things are subjective and really come down to what you prefer from a cruise line and also which your favourite lines are, so those are things that I cannot really take into account, other than to bring up any aspects to take into account.
What I will use for this list in the variety of ships a line as in the region, the variety of itineraries they have for sailing across Asia and the things that will directly impact on your getaway.
So just what are the best cruise lines for an Asian Adventure, that is just what I look at in this list.
Our Top 10 Cruise Lines For Asian Adventures
Celebrity Cruises
If you are a long-time reader of this website or you have followed my videos on the CruiseHols Youtube channel for some time, you will likely not be too surprised to see Celebrity topping a list such as this one.
There is some bias from me as Celebrity are one of mine and my wife’s go to lines and they are the line that I have personnel experience of cruising in Asia with, but there are also reasons for that, and those are the same reasons they are worthy of topping this list.
They offer a decent amount of departure points, including larger ports such as the likes of Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul but they offer smaller ports such as Bali and Mumbai.
They have a decent number of ships in the region and offer the chance to visit a huge range of countries including those in the sub-continent, around the Malayan Peninsula, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and China.
Amongst the aspects that drew us to the line and that ultimately made them the choice for us is there great range of repositioning routes which allow you to take in more of the region and the number of overnights stays they offer.
In Asia, I love to visit street food markets and see all of the light displays that tend to pop up in the regions cities and those can only be best experienced when the sun goes down.
Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises offer a massive range of itineraries, across numerous cruise ships but what makes the luxury line feature highly on this list, is the choice of departure ports that you can choose from.
Aside from the likes of Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bangkok that most lines in the region will offer departures from the likes of Kobe, Bali and Taiwan.
That variety is great for those who maybe want to spend more time exploring one of those destinations as is the number of overnight stays the line offer in many different ports, where again, you can take advantage of the nightlife on offer.
Oceania offer the chance to visit a number of bucket list places that can be difficult to reach including Surabaya, Langkawi, Brunei and the iconic Komodo Island.
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises offer a huge number of itineraries across many ships, including on ships based in the region year around.
The line do have a focus on either sailing around the islands of Japan or around the Malay Peninsula, but they make the most of those regions by othering port intensives cruises visiting many small ports many other lines miss.
Regent Seven Seas
Regent Seven Seas, another luxury cruise line with a focus on all-inclusive cruising, offer up to 5 ships sailing in the region where as well as southeast Asia, they also use turnaround ports in the Middle East.
That includes Abu Dhabi and Doha, which allows you to enjoy visiting the likes of India and Sri Lanka as you sail across the Indian Ocean but what makes them rank so highly on this list is their focus on visiting smaller cruse ports that most don’t visit and their focus on itineraries with overnight stays.
This allows for a much more immersive experience on your holiday and it allows you to take advantage of the till warm temperatures across much of the continent when the sun goes down, which allows for a thriving nightlife.
Royal Caribbean
If you love to sail on huge ships, Royal Caribbean are probably a line you look towards, and the good news is that they offer their same massive family resort style ships in Asia.
They have a focus on China and offer Shanghai and Beijing as two of their main turnaround ports, with offers plenty of opportunities to visit China and the eastern coasts of the Asia continent.
Norwegian Cruise Line
The Norwegian Cruise Line are known for a more relaxed style of cruising, with no formal nights and no need to book meals and shows (on some of their ships anyway) and that can suit the region well.
With so much to see and do on land, you normally have long stayed in port and for me that means I cannot really be bothered to get dressed up when back onboard before grabbing something to eat.
The line also offers a decent range of small to medium sized ships that allows for plenty of different ports to visit.
In terms of departure port, they offers the major turnaround ports in the regions as well as Taiwan and Bali and whilst they have a focus on Japan and south-east Asia, they do offer journeys heading further afield from the region including across the Indian Ocean.
Silversea Cruises
Out of all of the luxury cruise liens to sail in Asia, Silversea Cruises arguably have the widest range of itineraries and with up to 6 cruise ships sailing in the region, they will likely have a ship sailing where you want to go, when you want to go.
Like many lines on this list, they offer most of the region leading departure ports including Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong, but they also have more of a focus on long distance cruises repositioning from Australia.
The line do also expand their range of ports outside of South East Asia to include the likes of Sri Lanka and India.
Azamara
Azamara are another luxury line that also offer a really good variety of itineraries when sailing in Asia including popular destinations such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore where you can add on a land holiday as well.
The line does offer plenty of longer journeys that explore more of the area that start on the outside of Asia including the likes of Vancouver, San Francisco and Auckland.
If you are trying to decide between the different luxury lines cruising in Asia, one highlight of the Azamara line that maybe puts them ahead of other is that they really focus on immersing you in the region you are cruising in, especially with their AzAmazing Evenings.
Crystal Cruises
Crystal Cruises are a luxury line who offer itineraries covering much of the globe, with plenty been in Asia.
Whilst they don’t have the sheer volume of itineraries as many on this list, their variety is up there including trips starting from of the widest ranges of departure points including Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mahe, Bangkok, Bali and Manilla.
If you want to add on a land holiday before or after your cruise and are looking to sail on amore upmarket line, Crystal could be the choice for you.
Dream Cruise Line
I just had to start a list such as this one with a local line, as if you want a more authentic experience and to take advantage of local knowledge, that is the way to go.
Over the last decade or so, a few lines have been established and a few have disappeared, with our pick for this list, the Dream Cruise Line doing both of those things within just the last decade or so.
For me it was a toss up between the Dream Cruise Line and the Star Cruise Line, but I gave it to Dream thanks to their moderner fleet, including the Genting Dream, which is mostly based in Singapore and sails around southeast Asia.
The reasons this line features so low on our list and whilst the rest is focused on global lines is down to a few things including a lack of variety of ships, which in turns to a lack of variety of itineraries.
