Cruise operators sail on favorable winds

The resumption of cruise travel in China has not only offered big opportunities for international cruise operators, but also facilitated the rapid growth of domestic cruise companies through the launch of more cruise routes.

Adora Magic City — China's first domestically built cruise ship — is scheduled to make Shanghai its home port in 2025 and launch more than 80 trips lasting between four and seven nights.

The vessel will take guests to an array of destinations in Japan and South Korea in the coming year, according to the cruise itinerary of its operator Adora Cruises Ltd.

Since its maiden commercial voyage on the first day of 2024, Adora Magic City has successfully completed more than 50 trips as of Aug 12 and served over 200,000 guests at home and abroad.

"Being a flagship Chinese cruise brand, Adora Cruises will continue to explore the Chinese market via a wider range of cruise route offerings," said Liu Hui, CEO of Adora Cruises.

"We are committed to integrating the essence of Chinese culture into the brand experience, providing an innovative cultural tourism experience for passengers, offering cruise products tailored for Chinese people, and exploring a Chinese paradigm for the global cruise industry," Liu said.

Adora Mediterranea — another cruise ship operating under Adora Cruises — has just finished its brand upgrade, and is scheduled to launch sailings ranging from two nights to five nights, with Tianjin, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Xiamen in Fujian province, Qingdao in Shandong province and Dalian in Liaoning province as its home ports next year, the CEO said.

The destinations will include Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.

"Adora Magic City and Adora Mediterranea will operate nearly 170 international cruise routes for both domestic and foreign guests throughout the year 2025, meeting the diversified travel needs of consumers," Liu said.

Shanghai Blue Dream International Cruises Co Ltd is eyeing the launch of a 33-night cruise route on Nov 26.

The superlong cruise trip to be operated by Blue Dream Melody will visit 15 ports in 10 Southeast Asian nations.

"Paying tribute to the Chinese navigator and maritime explorer Zheng He's voyages to the Indian Ocean 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the new route will also fill the gap of super long cruise trips from Chinese home ports by offering a new option for cruise travelers," said Xu Ying, general manager of Shanghai Blue Dream International Cruises Co Ltd.

Thanks to the resumption of international cruise trips and China's policies facilitating international travel, cruise trips in Shanghai have recovered rapidly.

More than 840,000 passenger trips were made through Shanghai's cruise terminals in the first half of this year, according to data from the Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection.

Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Port has handled 736,500 passenger trips as of the end of July, and the port is projected to receive about 1.5 million inbound and outbound passenger trips throughout the year, accounting for 70 percent of the nation's total, according to Shanghai Securities News.