Cruise passengers arrive in Kai Tak, 15 years after airport closure
Fifteen years after the airport closed, visitors land anew in East Kowloon with the berthing of the first cruise ship at newly built terminal
Passengers disembarked at Kai Tak for the first time in 15 years yesterday, after a liner berthed at the terminal built on the site of the city's former airport.
The visitors offered mixed appraisals of the new, yet incomplete gateway to the city.
"It's much more convenient at Ocean Terminal but Kai Tak is more spacious," said Hongkonger Kitty Tam, one of the guests aboard Celebrity Millennium.
Passengers said the government's investment in the new terminal could not prevent teething problems for Asia's new cruise ship industry - such as the long distances between berths and onshore attractions.
With no public transport links to the terminal in East Kowloon, passengers had to board coaches to reach Hong Kong's attractions - something they have grown familiar with during their two-week voyage from Singapore.
"The main disadvantage of Asian cruises are the long coach rides [from the terminals to attractions]," said Briton Michael Benger. While happy with the new terminal, the 61-year-old said passengers had had to make early starts to reach inland destinations.
Mark Galanty, 65, from Los Angeles, expressed a similar sentiment. "A single trip [from the terminal] takes 3.5 hours in Hanoi and 2.5 hours in Bangkok," he said.