STAR Cruise plans to operate its two new US$700 million vessels, SuperStar Leo and SuperStar Virgo, in Asian waters.
According to the company's in-house publication, one vessel would possibly be deployed to cover China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan during summer.
Another will cover Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma and the Andaman Islands.
The two vessels, under construction at Germany's Meyer Werft's shipyard, will be among the largest in the world when completed in late 1998 and 2000 respectively. They will each have 1,000 cabins to accommodate up to 2,800 passengers.
A 1,000-strong crew will man each vessel, 20 per cent more than serve on most large cruise ships.
The vessels, with a service speed of 24 knots, will be able to call at four to six ports on a seven-night cruise itinerary, offering the longest possible time in port for shore excursions.