China Cruise Line Staffs Up, Anticipating Restart

The Chinese cruise industry may be ready to start sooner than later, as CSSC Carnival China Cruise Shipping, which will operate as Adora Cruises, is staffing up in the sales department.

The company is a joint venture between China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and Carnival Corporation.The company announced the appointment of Chen Yinglan as the sales director of the East China region, Lin Binbin as the sales director of the South China region, and Sun Wen as the sales director of the North China region.

Chen Ranfeng, CEO of CSSC Carnival, said in a translated statement: “The three are ‘senior cruise people’ who have been deeply involved in the industry for many years. They are also leaders in the cruise sales field. They have rich experience in marketing and a solid industry foundation in their respective regions. Maintain long-term and good cooperative relations with partners in the same industry. I believe they will play an important role in the market expansion of CSSC Carnival.”

The company said it will use a multi-vessel multi-homeport operation strategy and operate international routes in East Asia and Southeast Asia throughout the year. The company will focus on homeporting ships in China but is also committed to selling international departures as well, according to a statement.

As far as ships, the Costa Atlantica and Mediterranea previously transferred to Carnival’s joint venture in China prior. A new building is scheduled to be delivered from a shipyard in Shanghai this year.

Costa Smeralda, the Spectacular Floating Stage of Sanremo’s Music

Costa Cruises announced that it will be back in Sanremo with the Costa Smeralda for the famous Italian musical event that takes place from February 7-11. 

“Our presence in Sanremo will be even more spectacular than last year. From our floating stage, you will see just how much fun you can have on a ship like the Costa Smeralda because we will be hosting more than just performances: they will be moments where guests can dance, sing, feel good together with others and experience emotions to remember,” -said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises

The Costa Smeralda will host shows every night as a floating stage for the duration of the festival, featuring extraordinary artists, according to a press release. 

To celebrate the event, Costa Cruises has prepared a very eventful cruise featuring Italian travel agents, Italian clients and members of C|Club, the company’s loyalty club. 

The Costa Smeralda will be anchored in front of Sanremo from February 4 through February 12, 2023, allowing guests to experience Italian music, Italian gastronomy, selected Italian pastry as well as Italian comedy.

 Costa wanted to highlight the presence of partners with whom the cruise company usually collaborates. In addition to live broadcasts, experiencing the most popular Italian music event of the year from its “floating stage,” guests onboard will be able to enjoy exclusive experiences created for the occasion, which will change daily.

 The Costa Smeralda’s floating stage program includes special guests, tastings, previews, workshops, and sports courses. Additionally, guests will also be able to go ashore and explore the city of Sanremo during the music festival. 

Carnival to Sell Three More Ships, Two From Costa

As part of its fourth quarter business update, Carnival Corporation confirmed it would sell off three more ships, including two from its Costa fleet.

Carnival did not say which ships it was offloading.

“The company expects to remove three additional smaller-less efficient ships from its fleet,” Carnival said in a statement issued on Wednesday morning. “Two of these three ships are from Costa Cruises’ fleet as part of the company’s strategy to right-size the brand in light of the continued closure of cruise operations in China, and Costa’s significant presence there prior to the pause in the company’s guest cruise operations. Once completed in spring 2024, the company’s fleet optimization strategy will have reduced Costa’s capacity so that it approximates the 2019 capacity Costa dedicated outside of Asia to its core markets in Continental Europe.”

With the sale of the ships, Carnival said it now expects total capacity growth of 3 per cent for 2023 compared to 2019, at the lower end of the previous guidance range of 3 to 5 per cent.

The prudent capacity growth rate includes the benefit that newly delivered ships will represent nearly a quarter of the company’s capacity.

With three more ships set to leave, Carnival has divested approximately 26 cruise ships since the start of the pandemic.