Going, going, gone…………

Star Cruises announced last weekend that SuperStar Gemini has been sold with the cruise ship to be chartered back from the new owner until December 2008 to continue offering her cruise itineraries before being handed over.

SuperStar Gemini is owned by Star Cruises along with the Asian fleet of other mid-sized ships such as the SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Aquarius, SuperStar Libra, Star Pisces, Megastar Taurus, Megastar Aries and Wasa Queen, of which she has been part since 1995.

Star Cruises’ President David Chua said the sale was part of the company’s fleet optimisation plan in line with the realisation of new growth opportunities in the region.

“Such a need to sell or replace selected ships in the fleet will occur as and when opportunities from potential buyers arise to enable us to acquire bigger, better vessels as well as to renew and further enhance our products and services to better cater to our guests’ needs.” he added.

“An example is the arrival of the SuperStar Aquarius recently in June this year to Hong Kong, with greater capacity and features to cater to the needs and tastes of our guests.”

The Mole says that the issue for Aus goes deeper than this, in that Star committed the vessel to Australia, in the full knowledge that they wanted to sell her and The Mole can confirm that she had been on the market for sometime, therefore they were clearly following in P&O’s footsteps and long time policy of sending old and unwanted vessels to operate in Australia!

Star says that apart from the future growth potential with renewed and bigger capacities and features of ships, Star Cruises will now be able to focus on further improvements to its current ships such as the SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Aquarius, SuperStar Libra, with continuous innovation and improvement of personalised services, ongoing new activities and world-class themes and performances.

SuperStar Gemini currently offers 7, 10, 11 and 21-night cruises from Singapore to destinations in South East Asia before moving to Australia, where it is said her ardent fans are, in November for three months.  

In Australia, she will do two full circumnavigations of the continent, creating many memorable itineraries taking in ports of call such as Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and others.

The decision to deploy the ship for three months Downunder during some of the very best cruising conditions, the Australian Summer, is largely due and in response to the huge popularity of SuperStar Gemini with the Australian market.

On returning to Singapore, she will continue with the ever popular 7-night Straits of Malacca cruises as well as another six 10, 11 and 21-night cruises taking in Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

It has not been revealed who the new owner is but it is anticipated that she will operate in Asia.

Report by The Mole