The Royal Albatross cruise product now combines a restaurant venue with speedboat transfers and access to Singapore’s Southern Islands.
Tall Ship Adventures has launched Albatross Island Restaurant (AIR), a daytime venue aboard the Royal Albatross helmed by former Masterchef Singapore winner. The launch comes as the evolves beyond a sunset cruise operator into an “integrated marine hospitality platform” combining speedboat transfers from Singapore’s mainland, dining experiences and access to Singapore’s Southern Islands.
The Royal Albatross is a 47-m Barquentine Tall Ship. With the recent addition of its fleet of five Albatross Speedboats seating 51 pax each, the company aims to unite the two products into one seamless guest experience with the launch of the restaurant.
Tall Ship Adventures CEO and founder, Peter Pela, said: “For many years we've described ourselves as a sunset dinner cruise operator. Today, we're evolving into something much bigger. Our vision is to create Singapore's first integrated marine hospitality platform, where every experience complements the next. Rather than offering a single attraction, we're creating an ecosystem of connected experiences centred around Royal Albatross and the Southern Islands.”
The business will target the complete spectrum of the travel trade. AIR operates from 10.30am to 3pm, from Tuesdays to Sundays, with groups able to arrive by speedboat from Marina South Pier and Resorts World Sentosa.
One of the advantages of the concept, according to Pela, is the accessibility of Singapore’s Southern Islands from the city’s Marina South Pier where the MRT station is located. A 10-minute speedboat ride brings guests to where the Royal Albatross is anchored in Lazarus Island’s pristine lagoon, providing a quick connection between the downtown area and the island for a 90-minute lunch. The journey from Resorts World Sentosa takes about 20 minutes.
With the sheltered waters around the Southern Islands allowing the service to operate in predictable sea conditions year-round, Pela aims to address what he sees as a longstanding gap in access to the islands by providing regular speedboat connections from the city for Singapore residents and CBD corporate clients.
The lunch offering draws on menus created by chef Inderpal Singh, winner of MasterChef Singapore 2023, who recently joined the company as head chef. He redesigned the vessel’s international, vegetarian and Indian seven-course menus, which form the basis of the lunch offering. For $95++ (US$75) per adult, guests enjoy a three-course lunch menu - Hokkaido scallops, Patagonian toothfish/beef rendang, and pandan gula melaka kulfi - and an all-day island-hopping pass to explore the Southern Islands by speedboat. The last pickup from the islands is 6.30pm.
The Royal Albatross can accommodate up to 90 guests for a full buyout. Smaller groups can be accommodated in different areas of the vessel, including the aft deck, foredeck, and the air-conditioned Grand Saloon, allowing planners to configure the experience for varying group sizes.
Pela is also exploring extending AIR’s operating hours and expanding its speedboat network. One possibility is to add a stop at the East Coast, providing another access point to the Southern Islands and the Royal Albatross experience.
Its established dinner cruise business is currently made up of about 65% local guests and 35% tourists. China is the company’s largest source market, followed by India and Australia. Indonesia has been identified as a growth market, with the UK, US, Malaysia and the Philippines forming its next tier of markets.