SuperStar Cruises, the leading cruise line in Asia-Pacific has announced that for the very first time it will have a ship based in the Eastern Mediterranean during the summer 2006 season.

Currently sailing from the homeport of Mumbai, India, the 1,480-passenger capacity SuperStar Libra will reposition to the homeport of Valletta, Malta in June.

The deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean follows SuperStar Libra’s season in India, which ends in May 2006. To dovetail with the Eastern Mediterranean deployment, her season in India will be extended from end April to late May. SuperStar Libra will then proceed with her relocation cruise on 21 May from Mumbai with showcases at Dubai and Bahrain before arriving at her homeport of Valletta, Malta on 6 June.

SuperStar Libra will be the first ever ship in the Star Cruises Asian fleet to operate in Europe. Most cruises will depart from the homeport of Malta and Star Cruises has received exceptional support from both the Prime Minister and the Tourism Minister of Malta in developing these itineraries.

“The decision to homeport the ship in Malta stems from the conducive port conditions and strategic location for Star Cruises to plan interesting and appealing itineraries in the Eastern Mediterranean”.

Ports of call on the new Eastern Mediterranean cruises are scheduled to include Rome (Civitavecchia), La Spezia (for Florence and Pisa), Olbia, Naples, Venice and Messina (Sicily) in Italy; Athens (Piraeus), Santorini, Corfu and Crete in Greece; Valletta in Malta; Istanbul and Izmir in Turkey; Dubrovnik in Croatia; and Alexandria in Egypt.

Cruises available in the Eastern Mediterranean will range from seven to 12-nights and Star Cruises is currently working closely with travel partners – the Maltese Tourism Board, tour operators, cruise specialist agents and airlines – to ensure these new cruises are on sale from early 2006.

In line with all other Star Cruises ships, the SuperStar Libra will feature an Asian flavour onboard. In addition to Asian restaurants, the ship will retain the high standards of Asian warmth and hospitality in all aspects of service. The ship features a range of leisure facilities including swimming pool and jacuzzis, outdoor golf driving range, basketball court, jogging track, fully equipped gym with sauna, beauty salon, children’s play room and karaoke lounge.