Cruise company launches service to the Philippines

A local cruise company launched a Taiwan-Philippines service yesterday, and hopes eventually it can begin a regular Taiwan-China service.

The 25,000-tonne China Sea Discovery, carrying 632 passengers, sailed from Kaohsiung to the Philippine capital Manila.

"It is a six-day-five-night voyage. Passengers spend two days visiting the Philippines, but they must spend the night on board," Wang Chen-en, manager of Envision International Ltd, the owner of the cruise company, said in a telephone conversation.

Envision International Ltd Chairman Lu Yu-min (魯裕民) said his goal is to launch a Kaohsiung-China service.

"After the inaugural voyage, China Sea Discovery will limit the Kaohsiung-Manila voyage to one or two trips a month and start three-day-two-night trips from Kaohsiung to the northern Philippine islet of Laoag," Lu said.

"But our ultimate goal is to launch a Kaohsiung-Xiamen service so that we can bring Chinese tourists to Taiwan," he said.

"If Taiwan lifts the ban on direct sea links, it takes only eight hours for our ship to reach Xiamen. We want Chinese tourists to spend one week in Taiwan," he said.