She last came to Hong Kong in 2016 on another cruise and will tour the New Territories as her first destination in the city. “We are not worried about Covid-19 restrictions. I’m happy it’s open and we are looking forward to seeing everything,” she said.

“We hope to see as much as possible with the little time we have here.”

Adam Radwanski, managing director of Silversea in Asia-Pacific, said the cruise liner chose Hong Kong because the city was an “extremely critical cruise port in the region”.

“Hong Kong is such an iconic destination and Victoria Harbour is one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. Cruising in Asia without stopping in Hong Kong is not good,” he said.

Radwanski added the company had no plans of pulling out of Hong Kong amid its tough Covid regime, which was only recently eased.

“We have always had hopes that Hong Kong would open in time for the start of the cruising season in January, at the same time we have been working tirelessly together with the government and tourist board for the last three months to iron out all protocols,” he said.

He pointed out that the return of the cruise ship could help “nurture” the local economy as cruise guests embark in the city.

“We have procured stays at high-end hotels and short excursions for our guests. We also obtained goods for our ship in Hong Kong, and we are happy to support the recovery of Hong Kong’s tourist sector,” he said.

He also expressed hopes of working in the Greater Bay Area to attract mainland Chinese guests. The bay area is an ambitious plan by Beijing to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine southern mainland cities into an economic powerhouse rivalling Silicon Valley.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the return of Silver Spirit marked a milestone on the road to recovery for the city after three years of the pandemic.

“We will also work with bay area cities and make Hong Kong a port for the cruise industry for starting points and stops,” Yeung pledged.

The Silver Spirit, currently carrying 320 guests from 20 countries, will stop for one night in the city and return to Singapore. The ship can take up to 600 passengers.

While Radwanski admitted the current guest count was “a little bit on the lower side”, he said the numbers were still “fantastic” for a start.

“Of course, we would like to see our ships sail at full capacity, but let’s not forget that a few months ago, there was a little bit less predictability of where we would be in Hong Kong,” he said.

“Just because Hong Kong is reopening, it doesn’t mean tourists will come tomorrow. It takes time.”

“When we were starting our operations 2½ years ago in Europe and the United States, the first sailings were also on the lighter side. What we see in Hong Kong is similar to other markets after closures.”

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has lined up a minimum of 82 ship calls from at least 16 cruise lines this year. These include Royal Caribbean International, Resorts World Cruises and Princess Cruises.

Luxury cruise liner Mein Schiff 5, under German operator TUI Cruises, will visit Hong Kong four times and berth at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in early March, making it the first ship to call at the facility in 2023. The vessel will bring more than 5,000 travellers to Hong Kong.

Since the pandemic emerged, cruise ships have not visited Hong Kong, except those operating at reduced capacity under the government’s “cruises-to-nowhere” scheme since last July.

Cruises were scuppered earlier last year after the government increased efforts to stem the spread of Omicron coronavirus variants, crippling the industry and tourism in general.