Asia Cruises

By David Barclay | May 22, 2024

Asia is a great destination for an extended vacation, combining the exploration of food, culture, history, religion, architecture, and nature. However, Asia is big (by far the largest continent) and distances between interesting locations vast (the flight time from Tokyo to Singapore is over 7hrs). Since cruises can cover vast distances in a relatively short time, they are ideal for an introductory exploration of Asia. While some cruise itineraries focus on a specific country or micro-region of Asia, others let travelers visit multiple countries, allowing visitors to experience the uniqueness of each country’s culture and history.

Cruises also benefit from many popular cities and tourist destinations being located on or near the ocean. Combined with the fact that many Asian countries are relatively small and narrow, it’s easy to reach most places of interest from a cruise ship.

A cruise can also be a great option for visiting Japan, as a luxury vacation can be fairly expensive (I made a similar recommendation in a prior Cruise News for visiting Iceland, another very expensive country). A luxury vacation to Japan will easily cost over $1000/per person/per day and can quickly climb to $2000+/pp/pd with 5-star hotels. This makes a luxury cruise look like a bargain.

Most cruises around Asia occur from December to May. While the 2024/2025 cruise season may seem a long way away, recent demand for cruising is filling ships quickly and this trend is unlikely to change anytime soon. As I researched available itineraries to select my curated list below, I found many sailings with only a limited number of suites still available and a few that are already waitlisted. If you’ve been contemplating a trip to Asia and think a cruise might be a good way to travel and explore, I’d highly recommend getting your suite booked before heading out for your summer plans.

---

Silversea (Silver Nova)

14-night Tokyo to Tokyo
Mar 26 – Apr 9, 2025

A classic example of a Japan intensive cruise, this itinerary starts and ends in Tokyo, circumnavigating this island country. While this cruise is mostly focused on Japan, Silversea has taken the opportunity to include one port in South Korea.

This cruise is on the new Silver Nova, an exciting new luxury cruise ship with a unique asymmetrical design. Silversea’s door-to-door fares include everything from the moment guests leave their homes until they return, including airport transfers in their home city, airfare, and the all-inclusive experience for which Silversea is known. With non-stop flights to Tokyo from many cities in the U.S., getting to and returning from this cruise will also be a breeze.

---

Regent Seven Seas (Seven Seas Explorer)

14-night Iconic Asian Capitals (Hong Kong to Tokyo)
Feb 19 – Mar 5, 2025

This journey from Hong Kong to Tokyo allows guests to visit China, Taiwan, South Korea, & Japan. To give travelers more time to explore and immerse themselves in the culture of the ports they visit, this itinerary includes overnight stays in Shanghai and Osaka. 

The Seven Seas Explorer was the first of 3 new sister ships added to the RSSC fleet and she boasts the latest in luxury and guest comfort. And with the included business class air in Regent’s cruise fares, guests will feel pampered from the moment they leave home until they return.

---

Seabourn (Seabourn Encore)

28-night Circle The South China Sea (Singapore to Singapore)
Jan 5 — Feb 2, 2025

For those with ample time to travel, a longer journey can reward the extra investment in time and cultural exploration. This 4-week journey circumnavigates the South China Sea, visiting 8 countries. The longer duration of this cruise allows both the large number of port visits and two overnights (Taiwan and the Philippines).

Guests who are not able to devote four full weeks to a vacation can take one of the 2-week legs of this journey, either Singapore to Hong Kong or Hong Kong to Singapore.

---

Azamara (Azamara Pursuit)

17-night India & Sri Lanka Voyage (Dubai to Singapore)
Nov 21 – Dec 10, 2024

An option to cover a lot of ground (and ocean) in a relatively short amount of time, this itinerary spans all the way from the Middle East to Singapore, with stops in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia.

This cruise also includes Azamara’s signature event, the AzAmazing Evening, with “An Evening of Sri Lankan Culture and Heritage”.

---