Global cruise operator Carnival Plc announced Friday the inaugural season of its Sapphire Princess under the Princess Cruises brand from its new home port of North China's Tianjin Municipality.
This marked the first time Princess Cruises has offered home port cruises out of the northern part of China.
According to the company, the Sapphire Princess, which can accommodate up to 2,670 guests, will take guests on five voyages to destinations in northern Asia such as South Korea and Japan. The voyages started on October 9 and end on November 9.
Following Princess Cruises' successful season in Shanghai, Princess Cruises introduced the Sapphire Princess to Tianjin, a move to further highlight China's foremost position in the company's development plans, Anthony Kaufman, executive vice president for international operations, said at a briefing in Tianjin on Friday.
"As the cruise industry is now rising in the Chinese market, which is different from the more mature cruise markets in the US, the UK and Australia, we are trying to attract Chinese customers by offering customized services," Kaufman told the Global Times Friday.
Carnival also said on Friday that a new cruise ship under construction for the Princess Cruises brand will be named Majestic Princess. It will be based in China year-round beginning in summer 2017.
The new vessel will become the first built specifically for Chinese guests incorporating a blend of international and Chinese features, according to the company.
"Our strategy is to continue to deploy ships and bring new ships to China, trying to expand in China as well as in Asia because the markets are so important to us," Kaufman told the Global Times Friday.
Cruise travel has enjoyed increasing popularity among Chinese travelers in the past eight years, Zheng Weihang, deputy director of the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA), said Friday at the same meeting in Tianjin.
"The number of Chinese cruise travelers in the Chinese mainland this year will surge to more than 1 million. The figure stood at only 20,000 in 2006," Zheng noted.
There were 466 voyages calling at ports in the mainland in 2014, an increase of 14.8 percent year-on-year, including 366 voyages departing from Chinese home ports, according to data released by the CCYIA in December 2014.
The company said it would include two ships in the Chinese market next year. The Golden Princess will offer a 129-day cruise program from Tianjin, while the Sapphire Princess will offer year-round cruises from Shanghai.
