Tag Archives: china market

New Princess ship to debut in Europe before China deployment

Posted on by
Reply

Majestic Princess.

Princess Cruises’ new ship Majestic Princess is to make its debut in Europe before being deployed to its year-round base in China.

The 3,560-passenger vessel enters service in April 2017 with a short maiden season of five to 28-day Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona, Athens and Rome before moving to China in July.

Sister ships Royal Princess and Regal Princess will be among a further six ships to be based in Europe in 2017.

Royal Princess will run new 11-day Grand Mediterranean and 10-day Western Mediterranean itineraries which can be combined into a 21-day sailing. Seven, 14, 21 and 28-day sailings throughout the Mediterranean will also be available.

Regal Princess, launched last year, returns to northern Europe for cruises to Scandinavia and Russia including an overnight stay in St Petersburg.

The 3,080-passenger Crown Princess will be based in Southampton from April to September to run seven and 14-night cruises to the Mediterranean and Scandinavia.

The 3,140-passenger Caribbean Princess will operate the line’s largest British Isles season with 12 departures from Southampton including  a new late evening stay in Belfast and overnights in Dublin on selected cruises.

Smaller Pacific Princess, carrying 680 passengers, will sail from Dover from June to September on northern Europe itineraries.

Both Crown Princess and Pacific Princess will offer North Cape voyages to the Arctic Circle during the peak midnight sun period around the summer solstice.

The 2017 sailings, covering 153 departures to 119 destinations across 27 countries, are open for booking on December 3 from 4pm.

Princess Cruises’ president, Jan Swartz, said: “Our 2017 Europe season is sure to inspire our guests with our newest and largest ships in the Mediterranean and northern Europe.

“We’re especially excited to debut Majestic Princess in the Mediterranean before she officially sails to Asia for her maiden China cruise season.”

Norwegian to target China market with second Breakaway Plus-class ship

Posted on by
Reply

By Phil Davies

Norwegian Cruise Line’s second Breakaway Plus-class ship will be used to mark the line’s entry into China in 2017.

The new vessel is being designed specifically for the China market with accommodation, cuisine and onboard experiences that cater to the holiday preferences of Chinese passengers.

The 4,000-passenger ship will be the second in the new class to be introduced by the line following Norwegian Escape which is Duse for delivery next week.

Chief executive Frank Del Rio said: “Our new purpose-built ship for China will have characteristics that are authentic to Norwegian Cruise Line and yet distinctively Chinese in all of its sensibility.

With this new ship, Norwegian will unquestionably offer our Chinese guests a superior product and introduce a new standard of innovation and excellence into the marketplace, with an unrivaled level of customisation for the Chinese consumer. It will perfectly suit what modern Chinese travellers value from an upscale cruise experience.”

The company says it is is working with partners in China and local experts on the subtleties of Chinese culture.

Further details, including the ship’s name, home port, accommodations, dining and entertainment will be disclosed in the coming months.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has opened offices in Beijing and Hong Kong in addition to Shanghai.

The offices will support all three brands in the company’s portfolio – Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

“Our China offices house a dedicated leadership team uniquely focused on ensuring the success of our local travel agent partners, which is crucial to the success of our expansion in what will soon be the world’s second largest cruise market,” said Del Rio.

“These offices will provide sales and marketing support to our travel partners whose customers not only wish to sail on our new China-based ship, but also on any of the incredible voyages around the world offered across our portfolio of brands.”

Two additional ships in the Breakaway Plus class are on order for delivery in 2018 and 2019.

Princess to launch China cruises from Shanghai

Posted on by
Reply

Princess to launch China cruises from Shanghai

By Tom Stieghorst
Princess Cruises will enter the China market for the first time next May, homeporting the Sapphire Princess in Shanghai for the summer.The 2,670-passenger ship will offer three- to seven-day cruises to South Korea. It is expected to carry 70,000 passengers over a four-month season, mostly from China.Princess would become the second Carnival Corp. brand sourcing passengers from China.
Costa Cruises began sailing there in 2006.Carnival Corp. has opened offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu to support its operations in China.
The 2014 China season will feature four itineraries: the seven-day itinerary will take passengers to the Korean capital of Seoul, the beach resort of Busan and the island of Jeju before returning to Shanghai; the five-day cruise will call at Jeju and Inchon; the four-day itinerary will call at Busan and Jeju; and the three-day cruise will call at Jeju.