More cruise ships want to dock in Boracay

 The Aklan Provincial Government welcomes the initiative of international cruise ship companies to dock in this resort island.

Niven Maquirang, jetty port administrator, said that the United Kingdom-based Oceania Cruises has started selling tickets for its new route.

"Boracay is becoming at par with the worldwide trend on Cruise Ship Tourism. On our part, we are developing the jetty port to reach the international standard," said Maquirang.

While the Oceania Cruises has already been starting to sell tickets, the Aklan provincial government is yet to receive notification from the management.

Britanny Chrusciel, editorial assistant of the Oceania Cruise, said that Boracay has been included in their 12 new destinations around the world.

Aside from Boracay, other port destinations for winter itineraries include Jeju, South Korea; Luderitz, Namibia; Cooktown, and Australia, among others.

For the Boracay route, the Oceania Cruises will be using its Nautica vessel which will sail in both Asia and Africa for eight itineraries in 2015. These include overnight in ports like Singapore, Ha Long Bay, Tokyo, Cape Town and Namibia.

Nautica will also complete a 35-night voyage from Hong Kong to Istanbul that navigates the Suez Canal.

Chrusciel said that the lines itineraries, 27 of them, are considered brand new and now focused on longer, destination-intensive sailings with 76 percent spanning two weeks or longer.