Busan Port Authority signs MOUs with European luxury cruise lines to boost homeport operations

The Busan Port Authority (BPA) announced Monday that it visited global luxury cruise lines Ponant and Silversea in Marseille, France, and Monaco from Friday to Saturday, signing separate MOUs with each company and discussing concrete plans to boost extended-stay cruise operations at Busan port, including homeport and overnight calls.

The European marketing trip focused strategically on Ponant and Silversea as major players in the global luxury cruise market. Ponant is a partner that worked with BPA this year to launch South Korea's first fly-and-rail homeport cruise, and BPA said it is focused on building on the success of that inaugural voyage to expand Busan's homeport operations and upgrade service over the medium to long term.

Silversea, the flagship luxury brand of Royal Caribbean Group, has been making regular calls at Busan port. BPA first met with Royal Caribbean Group fleet deployment executives in Miami to discuss Busan's role in the group's Asia fleet strategy, then held detailed talks at Silversea's Monaco headquarters with key operational managers overseeing route planning, port-of-call development and terminal operations. Those discussions covered a phased roadmap toward expanded overnight and semi-homeport operations, with an eventual full homeport designation as the goal.

At Ponant's headquarters in Marseille, BPA discussed the cruise line's fleet operations and medium- to long-term plans to expand homeport sailings from Busan. Ponant confirmed it will increase its Busan homeport voyages from four this year to six in 2027 and nine in 2028, with plans to more than triple the number of sailings by 2030 compared with this year's inaugural season.

In Monaco, BPA signed an MOU with Silversea on expanding extended-stay cruise operations and improving cruise services at Busan port. Silversea's Busan port calls are set to more than double, from 11 this year to 26 in 2027, and the two sides will also pursue three overnight itineraries in Busan next year — a program that did not exist this year.

During the meetings, both sides agreed to raise service quality and passenger convenience across the entire journey — from embarkation and disembarkation to terminal use and tourism — tailored to the expectations of luxury cruise passengers. They also shared a list of step-by-step improvements needed to support expanded overnight stays and future homeport operations, pledging to address them together.

"We will use these MOUs as a springboard to strengthen communication with global cruise lines, continuously expand extended-stay cruise programs such as Silversea's overnight itineraries, and enhance Busan port's competitiveness as a homeport," BPA President Song Sang-geun said.