History in the Making for a Region in Need
April 07, 2005
Princess Cruise Lines has sailed their way into the history books in Shanghai, China. Tuesday morning, April 5, 2005, The Sapphire Princess arrived at the Waigaoqiao Docks just outside Shanghai, making it the largest cruise ship to ever visit the historical Chinese city. It is also the largest ship cruising the Asia-Pacific region, according to Jonathan Cheung, director of the China market development of P&O Travel, Princess Cruises' Hong Kong-based business representative.
The ship itself, which just made her debut this past November, is about 300 meters long, 18 stories tall and weighs 113,000 tons. As a part of Princess Cruise Line's remarkable Grand-Class family of ships, which are some of the newest, largest, and most state-of-the-art vessels at sea today, the Sapphire Princess features a number of incredible amenities that have set new standards for today's cruise industry. This includes everything from a spacious onboard movie theater and four large swimming pools, to the opulent offerings of the Lotus Spa and Fitness center. The Sapphire Princess also features Princess Cruises' innovative Personal Choice Cruising programs, which allow passengers to essentially customize their own individual cruise vacation to be whatever they want it to be.
The Sapphire Princess set sail from Bangkok, Thailand, on March 26 for its first Southeast Asia trip ever, carrying more than 2,600 passengers mostly from Europe and the United States. To a region that has been recently struggling to revive its cruise tourism industry, this colossal vessel was a very welcome sight. Shanghai has had trouble over recent years attracting larger cruise ships to its Waigaoqiao Docks, many believe due to the dock's inconvenient location to the city itself. However, to a city like Shanghai that relies so heavily on its tourism revenue each year, utilizing its cruise ship hosting capabilities to the fullest extent has become a necessity.
"I came to Shanghai with the Regal Princess two years ago. It's a good city," said Attilio Guerrini, the captain of the Sapphire Princess. "The dock here is big enough to host large ships like us, but it's a pity that it is located too far away from the downtown."
Many also attribute this dramatic slump in Chinese cruise traffic to a lack of local acceptance of the idea of cruising in general, and the dramatic rise in overall costs that the industry has seen over recent years.
"Most Chinese people still can't accept the fact that traveling by ship is more expensive than by air," said Zhao Dexiang, Shanghai International Travel Service general manager. "So, we should wait longer for the local cruise travel market to prosper."
With the arrival of a ship like the Sapphire Princess, local Chinese officials hope that more cruise lines will now consider a stop in Shanghai. According to the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission, things are expected to get much better. The city expects to welcome more than 50 international cruise ships this year alone, bringing tens of thousands of passengers from all over the world to the region, and there are also several large cruise lines that have expressed interest in putting their newest and largest ships on routes that include Shanghai as a destination port.
The Sapphire Princess left Shanghai on Wednesday night headed toward Busan, South Korea. She is scheduled to return to Shanghai for another two days next week, and Princess Cruise Lines isn't stopping there. The Diamond Princess, the sister ship to the Sapphire Princess, also has plans to visit the city four times during October and November of this year.
Brian ReitterBook your cruise online
