Tag Archives: Okinawa

Royal Caribbean Announces Spectrum’s 2026-27 Hong Kong Season

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Royal Caribbean Announces Spectrum’s 2026-27 Hong Kong Season

Royal Caribbean International announced the Spectrum of the Seas’ 2026-27 Hong Kong homeport season, featuring new itineraries including a long-awaited combined Japan and South Korea route.

The upcoming season offers expanded scheduling with more flexibility and choice for vacationers.

The lineup includes exclusive, one-time-only itineraries designed to meet growing demand for diverse cruise vacations from Hong Kong, the company said in a statement.

Highlights of the 2026-27 season include a nine-night Japan and South Korea Thanksgiving and Autumn Foliage itinerary, marking the return of a combined route not offered from Hong Kong for years.

Guests will explore the cultures and landscapes of both nations, with calls at Tokyo, Osaka and Busan.

New this season are eight-night one-way voyages.

Guests can sail from Hong Kong to Tokyo along Japanese and South Korean destinations, or embark in Tokyo to explore Japan and Taiwan before disembarking in Hong Kong.

Two eight-night sailings can be combined to create one seamless vacation.

The season also features the classic five-night Okinawa and Ishigaki itinerary into Ryukyu culture, festive Christmas and New Year sailings, and a five-night Okinawa and Taipei route combining tropical island charm with city energy.

The four-night Vietnam Warm Winter Getaway is available one time only this season.

The just-concluded 2025-26 Hong Kong season achieved over 32 percent of guests on destination sailings originating from international markets, including North America, Europe and Australia.

MSC Bellissima Completes 2025 Season in China

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MSC Bellissima Completes 2025 Season in China

The MSC Bellissima recently completed MSC Cruises’ 2025 deployment in China after offering over 30 cruises from the country.

Serving the Chinese market, the 4,500-guest ship arrived in Shanghai in mid-January, offering winter sailings to Japan and South Korea.

The four- and five-night cruises, which continued to be offered through early March, included visits to destinations such as Fukuoka, Sasebo and Jeju.

The Meraviglia-class ship then repositioned to other Asian countries before returning to Shanghai in mid-July.

As part of a summer deployment in China, the vessel offered additional cruises to Japan and South Korea through early September.

The four- and five-night itineraries featured visits to more ports of call, such as Okinawa, Busan and Incheon.

The MSC Bellissima is set to offer cruises departing from Tokyo in October before repositioning to Naha and Keelung.

As part of its interporting operations in the region, the Bellissima offers a series of short cruises to Japan and Taiwan through the end of the year.

In addition to Naha and Keelung, the four-night itineraries feature alternating visits to Ishigaki and Miyakojima.

Similar sailings are set to be offered in early 2026, with departures from the two homeports scheduled through late January.

According to published deployment, the MSC Bellissima is poised to return to China next year, kicking off a repositioning cruise to Shanghai soon after completing its winter deployment in Japan and Taiwan.

As the largest cruise ship in Asia, the 167,600-ton vessel has been sailing year-round in the region since 2023.

Built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, the MSC Bellissima entered service in 2019 as a sister to the MSC Meraviglia.

After spending its inaugural season in Europe, the vessel also offered itineraries in the Middle East and the Red Sea before repositioning to the Far East.

Costa Serena to Sail from Taiwan to Japan this Fall

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Taiwan International Ports (TIPC) announced that the Costa Serena, which returned to sailing in Asia this year, will offer cruises to Japan in the fall of 2023.

The Costa Serena will sail three cruises to Okinawa, Japan from the Port of Kaohsiung in time for the mid-Autumn and National Day holidays in September and October.

In addition to sailing to Japan, the ship will return to Taiwan for regular homeport cruises first based out of Keelung and then Kaohsiung from July through October.

The Port of Kaohsiung has already set an all-time record this year with 157 cruise ship calls as of May 28, including 27 port-of-call visits.

The TIPC has recently opened a new Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal Building where automated smart passenger handling systems are being tested at the moment.

Upon completion, TIPC also plans to expand and upgrade the Penglai Cruise Terminal.