21st Century Business Herald reporter Gao Jianghong reports from Beijing
International cruise ships have not yet resumed operations at their home ports in China, and they are eager to announce their deployment plans for the next two years.
On March 12th, the world's largest international cruise ship brand, Royal Caribbean International Cruises (hereinafter referred to as "Royal Caribbean"), disclosed its deployment plan for China's routes from 2025 to 2026. It plans to deploy two 170000 ton international giant ships, "Ocean Spectra" and "Ocean Praise", simultaneously in China's three major homeports - Shanghai, Tianjin, and Hong Kong.
Liu Zinan, Global Senior Vice President and Asia Chairman of Royal Caribbean Group, stated that Royal Caribbean will lead the accelerated development of China's cruise industry with a diversified route combination and a newly upgraded "dual flagship and three mother ports" deployment plan.
This official announcement signifies the return of the first international super luxury cruise ship after the restart of Tianjin's home port. It is reported that the route released in this round will cover more than 130 international cruise vacation trips for Chinese consumers until May 1, 2026, traveling to popular tourist destinations in Asia such as Okinawa, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, Wuhe, Hakodate, Sasebo, Busan, Incheon, Nha Trang, etc.
Royal Caribbean is the first international cruise ship brand to announce its return to the Chinese market, and the only international cruise ship company to deploy cruise ships in its home port in China throughout 2024. According to 21st Century Business Herald, since the opening of pre-sales for the Shanghai and Hong Kong home port routes of the "Ocean Spectrum" from 2024 to 2025, the booking performance of direct customers and travel agency agents has broken records, and market demand continues to rise. Liu Zinan realized that Chinese consumers have enthusiastic expectations for high-level and high-quality international cruise vacation products. Therefore, Royal Caribbean immediately decided to increase its presence in the Chinese market and arrange for the 170000 ton international giant ship "Ocean Tribute" to return to Tianjin's home port next year.
Liu Zinan said, "We are optimistic about the resilience of the Chinese economy and the potential of the Chinese cruise market, and the positive response from consumers has also strengthened our confidence." According to the plan, on April 26th of this year, the "Ocean Spectrum" will carry more than 4000 international tourists to Shanghai and start its maiden voyage the next day, officially marking the beginning of the 2024 China journey.
It is reported that in the 2025-2026 route deployment plan released this time, Royal Caribbean will significantly increase the number of classic short distance vacation voyages, and the selection of short distance vacation voyages will also be more diverse. For example, the number of short distance vacation voyages departing from Shanghai will increase to 61, an increase of 40% compared to the 2024 season. In addition, Royal Caribbean's 2024 sales data shows that consumer interest and demand for longer vacation journeys of 7 nights (or more) are gradually increasing. Therefore, during the 2025-2026 season, Royal Caribbean has added depth vacation voyages, with the proportion of voyages departing from Shanghai increasing to 13% compared to before. At the same time, it has also launched seasonal limited depth vacation voyages such as spring outings and autumn maple viewing.