Of the 1,500 tourists on board the six-day, five- night trip on SuperStar Aquarius, 800 are from Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing.

They paid from 5,000 to 9,000 yuan (HK$5,671 to HK$10,208), depending on where they began the trip, and their choice of cabin.

The maiden cruise will call at the Taiwan ports of Tainan, Taichung, and Keelung.

Commissioner for Tourism Margaret Fong Shun-man said the government hopes more cruise firms will explore the Asian market - using Hong Kong as their home port - and study the feasibility of sailing between the mainland, SAR, and Taiwan, and offering multi-destination itineraries.

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Fong said Beijing's relaxed travel policy brings more opportunities to Hong Kong's cruise travel industry, as the experience is quite new for most mainlanders.

She said feedback from Guangdong and Guangxi officials showed most mainlanders would choose Hong Kong as their first destination, followed by Taiwan, and that the element of sea travel on the itinerary is very appealing.

"It's difficult to say how much the 800 mainlanders spent in Hong Kong, but statistics suggest a mainlander on average spends about HK$5,600 if they stay overnight in the city," Fong said.

Star Cruises president David Chua Ming-huat said short trips fit the mindset of Asian and mainland travelers, so most cruises are for three to seven days, and seven to 21 days for the European fleet.

Many mainlanders said they were excited to be on the first cruise to Taiwan.

Zhou Lin and his wife said they spent about 9,000 yuan each, including air fares from Beijing to Hong Kong: "We arrived in Hong Kong on Saturday, and spent about HK$50,000 on watches, cosmetics and accessories," Mrs Zhou said.

A Mrs Shao from Shanghai said: "We thought about going to Taiwan before, but it was impossible for political reasons."